South shore progress: Hotel construction could begin next month

BEMIDJI – A deal to construct a Country Inn and Suites next to the Sanford Center could be finalized soon.

Tripp Snyder, the developer for the project, said Tuesday that construction could begin by mid-December, but emphasized that the timeline is tentative.
“So far, it appears that schedule is doable, but I cannot confirm that that’s exactly when we’ll start,” Snyder said.
Once construction begins, Snyder said, it should be complete in about eight months.
Snyder said the two major pieces left in the puzzle are finalizing the development agreement and financing documents.
“We have a series of contributors to the financing and all of them have to be satisfied with all of the wording,” Snyder said. “And that’s taken longer than we, or anybody had anticipated.
“But we are making serious progress there.”
City manager John Chattin said during Monday night’s city council meeting that an agreement is in the works for Kraus-Anderson, the construction company building the hotel, to insulate the site to prevent the ground from freezing.
The project has been delayed in recent months as the financial details fall into place. Snyder’s development company, Snyder and Associates, accepted a proposal from the Bemidji Economic Development Authority in December 2011 to build the hotel and attached restaurant with hopes of beginning construction this spring.
Snyder purchased 2.17 acres from the city for $756,202 in March.