Ceremonial groundbreaking for Comfort Suites

I did not expect to make it to the official groundbreaking for the Comfort Suites today because of a prior commitment, but traffic on I-65 was not congested and I arrived at the I65/SR 114 interchange a few minutes before 1:00. (That would not have happened if the bridge over the Wildcat Creek had been closed as it was on Wednesday, completely disrupting traffic.) The ceremony was delayed from June.

The new motel is being opened by the Patels, the family that still owns what is now the Interstate Motel that was formerly the Knights Inn. Some readers may remember Jatin Patel, who graduated from RCHS in 1999. He is the main owner. He currently has two other motels, one at the Lowell exit of I-65 and the other at the Remington exit. He said that this motel will be the nicest. Comfort Suites is a step up from Comfort Inn. There will be 75 rooms and each will have a pull-out bed. The front of the building will face west and there will be parking on three sides: north, west and south. There will be a swimming pool on the north side and also parking for trucks.

Mr Patel recalled how he was working the desk of his parents motel when he was eight years old. He said that when his parents left, they hired a baby sitter to take care of him and he took care of the motel. His three-year-old son posed with the ceremonial shovel in the picture below and then had fun digging in the sand after the posing was finished.

Actual groundbreaking occurred a few months ago. The site has been leveled and trenches for the foundation were being dug at the south end. The outline of the building had been marked in orange paint.

 The hole for the foundation had been completed at the north end. Soon a slab will be put down and then people will see actual construction.

 I asked Mr Patel why he chose to build at this intersection. He said the availability of sewer and water was key. The city built the sewer line last year and is preparing to install the water main. He said that there was plenty of demand for four motels at the intersection from traffic between Indianapolis and Chicago. However, he also consulted with the athletic director at SJC about how to make the conference room attractive to visiting sports teams and incorporated his suggestions. I asked if he expected to get traffic from people visiting Fair Oaks Farms and he did not think that would be big.

Speaking of Fair Oaks Farms, I saw a link to an article about the founder of Fair Oaks Farms on Facebook, though I do not recall whose feed it was. In the article was this sentence: "They also broke ground on a small chicken egg-laying facility, a combination of enriched and cage-free housing, in the first week of June."

On the way out the groundbreaking, I noticed that 4 County Supply has had a facelift. It looks much better.

In other business news, Visit Rensselaer posted on Facebook that there will be a new eatery soon in downtown Rensselaer. It will be located in what was Bub's and will be called the Dogger. It will sell hotdogs, hamburgers, and gyros.

Also, check out Visit Rensselaer's calendar of events. It is the most complete calendar of local events I know of.

I will try to post on some other happenings and on the Splash Park in Remington tomorrow.