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By JOYANNA LOVE | Managing Editor

The city of Clanton has reached an agreement with Mansa Hospitality LLC to bring a Hampton Inn to Interstate 65, Exit 205.

Mayor Jeff Mims said the development company will purchase about two acres of property from the city for $850,000.

The property being purchased is about half of the property (four acres) that the city recently bought on Big M Boulevard for $1.5 million. This property was purchased through a $5 million line of credit the city recently opened. The debt service will be interest-only payments for the first year with the principal and interest being paid off in the 48 months after that.

A hotel that is currently on the site will be demolished and replaced with a four-story building with 96 rooms, according to Mims.

Tax incentives for the project are also in the works. The Chilton County Commission approved a lodging tax rebate not to exceed $1 million and not to exceed 15 years, which ever happens first, during its Sept. 27 meeting. This was a revision to a previous tax rebate that had been approved for Mansa Hospitality. The timetable starts when the hotel opens.

A similar agreement is anticipated to be presented to the Clanton City Council at a later date.

Mims said the company has estimated the hotel will make $2.5 million per year in the first few years.