The Selma Times-Journal

Beginning next month, visitors to Selma will have a new lodging option.

The Holiday Inn Express, a 63 room, 38,000 square foot hotel just off Hwy. 80 W., is

projected to open in mid-April.

The hotel is going to be completed after 12 months of construction and about two years from its conception, according to J.D. Davis, chief operations officer for Pineforce, Inc., the company managing both the Selma Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express.

Construction of the hotel was handled by Caspian Contracting of Atlanta.

The hotel is estimated to have cost more than $4,000,000.

Wayne Vardaman of the Selma and Dallas County Centre for Commerce said hotels are good for the city and generate revenue for the city through lodging taxes and consumer spending.

The hotel is non-smoking and will feature amenities that include 32&8221; flat panel televisions, free local calls, high-speed Internet access and cable with HBO, a hot breakfast bar and heated outdoor swimming pool.

A great room to service up to 40 people and a boardroom to service around 15 people will be available.

Davis said guest rates will start at $114 a night, and the hotel expects to generate more than $1.5 million in revenue per year, which comes to around $100,000 in lodging taxes paid to the city.

The lodging tax, which functions much like a sales tax for hotel guests, is the sole source of income for tourism efforts within the city.

The tax, 10 cents on the dollar, is paid to the state, and the state retains 4 percent. The remaining 6 percent comes back to the city.

Tuesday, workers could be seen hauling equipment up, down, and across the building&8217;s three floors and moving, polishing, and drilling. Outside, a crew was paving the parking lot.

The hotel staff, a roster of 20 employees, has already been selected, but Natasha Davis, general manager, said the hotel is still accepting applications. Interested parties can apply at the Hampton Inn in front of the hotel.