Executive brought down

Ex-hotel demolished after mold ruins plans to remodel, reopen

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Plans to remodel the former Executive Inn and rename it Pear Tree Inn changed when workers concluded the building wasnt fit to remodel.

Instead, heavy machinery was brought in last week to begin razing the former hotel and night spot.

It was all molded out, said Kenway job site superintendent Dwight McComas. It was a lot better to go in, moneywise, and tear it down than to remodel.

Kenway Contracting has demolished three structures around the site. First to fall was the Rodeway Inn, followed by the Convenient Stop fuel station. Kenway owner Kenneth Allen said remodeling on the Executive Inn had begun but upon discovery of the mold, officials with Drury Inns Inc., the owner of the hotel, made the decision to demolish the building.

Allen said he does not know what new plans Drury has for the site.

Im sure theyll do something in time, he said.

The demolition permit lists the cost of the teardown of the 217,800 square-foot structure at $150,000. Allen said such demolitions typically take six to eight weeks.

Drury owns some of the property at the corner of Scottsville Road and what is now being developed as Ken Bale Boulevard. The Executive Inn property is owned by a Bale family company, Farmers Investment. Another Bale family company, Bale of Kentucky, owns the Convenient Stop property. Previously, Ruthie Bale, who could not be reached for comment today, said Drury Inns signed a single contract permitting the company to develop the Executive Inn property and the property where the Convenient Stop gas station was located.

At the time, Bale said Drury signed a 10-year contract with the option to buy after 10 years. If it made the purchase, Drury would own significantly more space on one of Bowling Greens busiest commercial intersections. Ken Bale Boulevard will eventually loop around and link to Shive Lane. Sams Club will open on Ken Bale Boulevard behind the Drurys development, but an opening date has not been announced. Additional commercial spaces will be available along the road for various uses.

In January, Larry Hasselfeld of Drury Development, an arm of Drury Inns Inc., said the site would probably see more hotel development along with retail and restaurant opportunities. There may also be some sort of meeting space constructed, but Hasselfeld did not specify whether it would stand alone or be part of a hotel development.

Any large-scale meeting area would likely compete with the already embattled Sloan Convention Center on Wilkinson Trace near the beginning of Scottsville Road. Some questioned whether Drury planned on building a full on convention center at the

location, but Hasselfeld did not indicate whether such a plan was on the table. By demolishing the Executive Inn, considerably more space is available for such a project.

City Commissioner Brian Strow, who wants to look at the financing of the Sloan Convention Center, said he would welcome a new facility if someone managed it properly and could turn a profit.

I certainly dont mind if they plan on building a new (convention center), he said. From a taxpayers perspective, though, its going to be difficult with our current arrangement with Sloan, as we are seeing some occupancy problems.

Strow said the Sloan Convention Center was operating at about 30 percent occupancy. Comparable arrangements he said usually see about 60 or 70 percent occupancy. He said the issue now is to decide whether a private management organization could do a better job than the city managing the facility.

Repeated calls to Hasselfeld and Drury marketing representative Bonnie Brown were not returned by press time.

 Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700