84-room Hampton Inn will be first hotel in decade for New Stanton

A four-story, 84-room Hampton Inn will come to New Stanton next year, Grove City developer Naren Patel said.

Patel's company, Stanton Hospitality, has been working on the project for the past year.

The borough has about a half-dozen hotels and motels, but it's been at least a decade since the newest came to town, borough manager Jeff McLaughlin said.

That's one reason Patel thinks it's a good time to start work on the Hampton Inn.

“There was not a new, fresh product in the market,” he said.

The hotel will be built on two parcels between Bair Boulevard and Broadview Road purchased by Stanton Hospitality last month.

The company has received most of the permits it needs to begin work, Patel said. If all goes according to plan, it will start clearing the property in October, and construction will begin next year.

The development coincides with PennDOT's $54 million Interstate 70 interchange reconstruction project, which is slated for completion in 2018.

The PennDOT project is another sign that the time is right for a new hotel, Patel said.

“There should be more traffic coming into New Stanton,” he said.

McLaughlin agreed. He said he hoped the Hampton Inn will precede similar projects.

“The new interchange is going to be kind of a facilitator, a catalyst, for new development. So we're thinking it might be the first of several projects of this type,” he said.

However, developers said the interchange project has also caused regulatory hassles.

“Unfortunately, PennDOT's got that whole area really tied up in terms of permitting and access,” said Hampton Inn project engineer Robert McCollim of Red Swing Group in Murrysville.

PennDOT has been hesitant to issue right-of-way permits to properties near the interchange project, so the hotel will be building a driveway from Broadview Road. McCollim said it is hoped that a main entrance can be built near Bair Boulevard, but that requires PennDOT approval.

This is the second attempt to build a Hampton Inn in New Stanton. Shirish Stahl of DuBois tried to build one near Bair Boulevard about two years ago, but never received the required right of way approval from PennDOT.

“That did fall by the wayside, and these people brought it back,” McLaughlin said.

McCollim said he hopes to be part of other developments in New Stanton, as the borough pursues its mission to become a destination rather than just an interchange stop for travelers.

“I think what they're looking to do is give people a little more reason to come and stay for a weekend, instead of just a single night as they pass through,” he said. “We look forward to being involved in those projects as they come up.”

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6646 or jtierney@tribweb.com.