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Hampton Inn Checking In Early In 2008

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 22, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - Pasco County's fastest-growing region has sprouted its newest hotel, a Hampton Inn & Suites that is likely to open Feb. 1.

The hotel is under construction off the northeast corner of State Road 56 and Interstate 75 in the heart of what promises to become a busy corridor chock-full of shopping and offices.

"That's exactly why this location was picked - the upward growth," said Doug Ritchie, the hotel's general manager.

In the coming year, developers expect to open nearly 3 million square feet of shopping, much of it aimed at high-end shoppers, within a few miles of the Hampton site. An array of small office complexes have opened in the area.

More offices - including a three-story building across S.R. 56 and a two-story building behind the hotel - are on the horizon.

Ritchie and the hotel's owners, New Tampa Hospitality, expect to draw a lot of business from corporate travelers as the region around the hotel booms with retail development. They also expect business from families and other leisure travelers visiting family in Seven Oaks and other nearby residential subdivisions along the S.R. 56 corridor.

"We've been blitzing all the little office parks around here, and we've already had some people calling us," said Ritchie, who lives in Seven Oaks and spent the last five years commuting to hotel jobs in Tampa.

The hotel sits across the interstate from the Cypress Creek Town Center regional mall complex and about two miles west of Shops at Wiregrass, going up at S.R. 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

The Hampton is the third hotel owned by the New Tampa-based group, which also owns the Wingate and Holiday Inn Express in the Tampa Palms area.

"We certainly did want to be the first one to strike up a pick of land here and get a hotel running," said George Sandona, area director of operations for New Tampa Hospitality.

A lot of work remains before the hotel has its first guests.

During a recent walk-through, Ritchie described the hotel's soon-to-be amenities - from the two-story breakfast area to the granite-topped bathroom vanities - even as workers hung drywall, put down carpet and buried irrigation lines.

Ritchie said he's gotten 150 applications for the hotel's 30 jobs.

"We have had an overwhelming response to our ads," Ritchie said.

Many of those applicants came from the Wesley Chapel/New Tampa area.

Ritchie's sorting through those applications and planning to start training the hotel's staff by mid-January.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com.

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