A Lafayette hotel developer has closed on the purchase of a former Citiplace restaurant and plans to start construction there on a new four-story, 119-room Tru by Hilton hotel as early as May. The sale documents for the transaction were filed with the East Baton Rouge Clerk of Court today.
Corporate Hotels LLC, represented by Jignesh “Jay” Patel of Lafayette, purchased the building at 2562 Citiplace Court for $1.6 million. The seller is listed as Home Bank, National Association, represented by Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer Darren E. Guidry.
The site, next to Barnes & Noble, is the former location of Derek Chang’s Koto of Japan restaurant, which closed in 2015.
Pinu Patel, Jay Patel’s business partner and contractor, says the former restaurant will be demolished within the next week or two. Construction of the Tru by Hilton at Citiplace should be completed by mid-2018. A permit application for the construction of the planned 50,778-square-foot hotel was filed on Dec. 29.
“There are a lot of hotels there,” Pinu Patel says. “Being a new brand, you want to pull from all of the brands that are there.”
Hilton Worldwide announced the launch of Tru by Hilton, a midsize brand, early in 2016. Pinu Patel says the brand caters to young professional travelers. It will not have space for restaurants or meetings. Nightly rates vary by location, but they typically range from $90 to $100.
—Alexandria Burris
