Nationally branded hotel opens in Dade City
Tampa Bay Business Journal - 10:32 AM EDT Thursday, September 6, 2007
by Alexis Muellner
After several years of effort by both the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce and the city, northeast Pasco County has succeeded in bringing its first nationally flagged hotel to the area.
A new Hampton Inn in Dade City held a grand opening Wednesday.
"Until now, all of our motels predated the interstate system and were not well suited for today's business traveler or
the tourists we have been drawing with our downtown redevelopment and heritage tourism efforts," said Dade City Commissioner
Scott Black. A subcommittee, on which Black served, courted hotel developers for several years and the city commissioned a
hotel feasibility study that helped the effort, he said.
The city commission also passed an economic development incentive ordinance that included hotel development among the target
groups.
The Hampton Inn developer, Piyush Mulji, was able to take advantage of this incentive, Black said.
"It was a good public-private partnership, and it is satisfying to achieve results at long last," Black said. "Imagine
earning Hilton Honors points in Dade City."