A new 85-room hotel has been proposed for the Fifth Avenue South corridor in Fort Dodge.
The hotel would be part of the Holiday Inn Express and Suites chain, according to Jeff Lamont, the president and chief executive officer of Lamont Companies in Aberdeen, S.D. That company, doing business as Fort Dodge Lodging Group, would own the hotel.
''It seems like there's a lot going on in Fort Dodge as far as economic development,'' Lamont said Monday afternoon.
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The hotel would be at the intersection of Fifth Avenue South and 31st Street.
''We like the visibility there,'' Lamont said. ''We like the location there, close to all the restaurants.''
Lamont's company is proposing a four-story building. However, city zoning law only permits three-story buildings in that area. The company has applied for a variance, which the Board of Adjustment will consider when it meets at 5:30 p.m. today in the Municipal Building, 819 First Ave. S.
If the variance is approved, construction will begin in May, according to Lamont. He said the hotel would open in February 2013.
About 30 people would work there, Lamont said.
Lamont Companies has one existing hotel in Iowa, a Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Davenport.
Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net