Hotel projects in DeWitt, Salina win county funding

Onondaga County hotel initiative seeks to add hotel rooms                  

SYRACUSE — Onondaga County has awarded funding to hotel projects in the towns of DeWitt and Salina, representing the first two grant recipients in the county’s program to create more hotel rooms. The first recipient is a 108-room, extended-stay hotel under the Choice Hotels flag, located on Collamer Road in the town of DeWitt. This project was awarded $250,000 and is currently under construction, the office of Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced on Oct. 24. Crews will build the hotel next to the existing Quality Inn & Suites, which is currently under renovation. The second project is a 110-room hotel located in the town of Salina under the Hilton flag that was awarded $400,000. Contractors will build the hotel on a vacant parcel of land located on Elwood Davis Road. Construction is expected to begin by the end of this year. “Our tourism and hospitality industries are a critical part of our local economy, generating important sales tax dollars that we use to fund county government. The industries are also heavily reliant on the availability and diversity of hotels. That is why my administration launched the Onondaga County Hotel initiative to incentivize and grow our local hotel infrastructure.” McMahon said in the announcement. “These two projects are an exciting first step in our efforts and I look forward to building on this progress in the months ahead.” On June 4, McMahon announced the county’s hotel initiative to help spur investment in the local hotel industry. He worked with the Onondaga County Legislature to allocate $4 million in surplus room and occupancy tax dollars. Grants range from $50,000 to $750,000 and successful applicants “must prove viable financing” for their project in order to be considered, the county executive’s office noted.