South Peak developer breaks ground on 117-room hotel

Smith/Packett, developers of South Peak in Roanoke County, broke ground Tuesday on an 80,000-square-foot Hilton Garden Inn. The $15 million hotel is part of a growing community that includes condominiums, residential home sites and future retail and office space.

Construction should be completed by the summer of 2014.  When fully operational, the hotel will employ 40 people.  Amenities include family suites, 2,000 square feet of conference space, a restaurant, lounge, fitness center and 24-hour business center.

“The addition of the Hilton Garden Inn – a major brand – is the next chapter in the vision for South Peak,” Hunter Smith, president of Smith/Packett, said in a statement. “We’ve been encouraged by the community’s support for this hotel and the surrounding developments and look forward to further developing Roanoke County’s newest place to live, work and play.”

The Hilton Garden Inn will be located below The Peaks residences, maintaining the development’s view of the mountains and downtown Roanoke.

The general contractor for the project, Integrated Construction, is based in Jacksonville, Fla.; the site contractor, BLJ Associates, is located in Southwest Virginia.  Architecture firms Trotter and Associates from Gatlinburg, Tenn.; and Jones and Jones Architects in Roanoke designed the structure.