Homeward-bound for Homes2 Suites

Dirt is turning at the future site of the Homes2 Suites Hotel on Emerald Coast Parkway and Restaurant Row. The 2.23-acre site, once home to Whitney Bank, was demolished in April to make way for the projected 113-room hotel.

McMurry Construction Company Inc. out of Memphis, Tenn. has been contracted for the duration of the project.

“Right now we are just pouring footings,” Site Superintendent Jock McMurry said when asked for an update on the project. “Our first floor will be poured out mid-November, the actual building should be dried-in by April, and we should be opening mid-October of 2016.”

McMurry said the hotel is a privately owned project and is a franchise under the Hilton Corporation.

The project’s developer, Cohen Investments, is also based in Memphis, Tenn. The real estate investment company began as Cohen Realty Inc. in 1954, with franchise companies such as Popeye’s Fried Chicken, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hampton Inn, and Blockbuster Video Stores. Today the company specializes in hotel and commercial property development and management across the mid-south and northeastern United States.