DeKalb County to Get New 82 Room Hotel

DeKalb County is getting a new Marriott or Hilton type 82 room hotel.
The announcement was made Thursday by Tom Sturdivant, Chief of Staff for Tootsie’s Entertainment, which owns Pates Ford Resort and Marina and the Fish Lipz Grill and now Sligo Resort and Marina and the Restaurant and Cabins at Sligo.
During the noon luncheon with Chamber leaders and other guests at Sligo Restaurant, Sturdivant said the three story hotel will be constructed within 18-24 months at the former location of Center Hill Restaurant and motel on Highway 70 east which overlooks Center Hill Lake.
“We bought the old Center Hill Restaurant and Motel and we’re going to build an 82 room hotel up there. It will be a Marriott or Hilton or one of the shingles. We have not decided yet. But that’s in the next 18 to 24 months,” Sturdivant told WJLE.
In the meantime, Sturdivant said some renovations will be made at Sligo Marina and the cabins on the hill across from Sligo. “We are going to take care of Sligo right now making it a safer place to come to and be at. When we came in we found some safety issues such as cables and docking that needed to be redone so that is in the process of being done now to make this a safer and better place for our structure outside,” he said.
While Pates Ford Marina has more of a club atmosphere, Sturdivant said plans are to make the restaurant at Sligo more family oriented. “This will be more of a banquet room and steak house. It will be a place where you can bring your family after church on Sunday. We may do a buffet or Sunday brunch. Not that Pates Ford is not family oriented but it has more of a club atmosphere with the bands and everything. Here it will be more steakhouse and more upscale. And while at Pates Ford the restaurant is open seasonally, the restaurant at Sligo will be open all year,” he said
Sturdivant said Pates Ford and Sligo contribute much to the local economy and want to be good neighbors here.
“Between Pates Ford Marina and Sligo Marina we have made a $12 million investment in DeKalb County and Smithville. We employ over 60 people, seasonal and full time and we do about $200,000 a year in sales tax of which $60,000 of that comes back to the county and city. We just want to be good neighbors. We want people to know what we’re doing and we want to be transparent. We’re just glad to be part of the Smithville-DeKalb County family. We want them to know we are here to help make this a better place,” said Sturdivant.