Motel project is in full swing
Motel project is in full swing
By STU MERRY
If all goes as planned Garrison will have a new motel by the time tourist season rolls around this spring.
Dennis Jeffrey, owner of the Garrison Motel and the new North Shore Inn and Suites, said the target date for the new facility to be open is early May.
JM Construction of Garrison, the contractor for the project, began setting up walls this past week. Once the frame and roof are up the foundation will be enclosed and interior cement work can commence.
For the past few weeks, piles of wall sections had encircled the footings of the new motel. The sections prompted some to inquire of Jeffrey if the building was pre-fab.
“It’s not a prefab,” he told Garrison Chamber of Commerce Governmental Affairs Committee members. JM crews have been building the walls at the Garrison Bay Honey shop on the southwest edge of Garrison, stacking the sections on-site once complete. Gene and Troy Hummel of Garrison Lumber are the general contractors for the project.
Gene Hummel said crews have been fighting the elements “but things are progressing well.”
“Panelizing the walls has helped speed the process,” he added.
Jeffrey said an expansion is long overdue, noting that the number of times the motel has been full the past few summers is too many to count. Even though local bed and breakfasts are utilized, far too often Jeffrey was forced to send potential customers elsewhere. Jeffrey quickly adds that he hopes the partnership with the area bed and breakfasts continues.
Jeffrey and his wife Irene have been mulling an expansion for a while. Adding on to the 30-year-old motel was given some consideration.
“It’s still in great shape,” he said. “But it’s time for a new motel … it will make the community more attractive with two motels.”
