Developer Duane Horton, right, gives details on hotel project
The Walker County Development Authority on Thursday morning approved a $100 million bond issue for a hotel at McLemore on Lookout Mountain.
Developer Duane Horton said the bonds went on the market on June 11 and have not yet been purchased.
However, he said plans are to close on the bonds on Aug. 9 with work starting on the hotel at the former Canyon Ridge site around the same time.
Mr. Horton said it is planned for the hotel to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023 and open in December of that year.
It will be part of Hilton's Curio Collection of fine hotels around the world, it was stated.
Mr. Horton said the 245-room hotel will provide 292 new jobs.
He said there will be 1,900 construction jobs with a payroll of $66 million.
There will be a pool and lounge area behind the hotel at the edge of the bluff.
Mr. Horton said the award-winning golf course is drawing visitors from all over to McLemore, and he said home construction is moving ahead at the scenic bluff setting. He said there are 12 home sites in addition to 11 homes sold or under construction. He said a model home sold for just under $1.4 million.
A fine dining restaurant opened last November.
Walker County officials said there is absolutely no liability to the county or taxpayers by issuing the bonds. An attorney said the county's involvement means tax incentives will be available on the project over the next 30 years as well as a lower interest rate for the developers.
Shannon Whitfield, chairman of the Walker County Commission, said, "This would be a dead issue if there was any liability to Walker County."
He called it "a very exciting day in Walker County to see that we are going to that next step."
Commission Chairman Whitfield said McLemore had more than lived up to promises made in a 2018 memorandum of understanding with the county - with the exception of an extension given due to COVID.
In that memorandum, McLemore pays no county property taxes for the first five years and just 10 percent for the next 25 years. It begins to pay full taxes after that.
McLemore includes more than 200 acres, and it overlooks McLemore Cove. The property is south of the Trenton-LaFayette Highway.