Trinity's first hotel comes after long wait

Just a decade ago, Trinity was not much more than a large cemetery people would see driving along State Road 54 between Wesley Chapel and New Port Richey.

Today, however, it's one of Pasco County's fastest-growing areas, with more than 12,000 homes already approved. And now first hotel will open by year's end.

Foundation work has started on the 86-room Holiday Inn Express, a $5.8 million hotel slated for Trinity Corporate Center just off State Road 54.

Michael Holtz, president of MPH Hotels Inc., told Coffee Talk he's been working on the hotel idea since 2009, after construction of Medical Center of Trinity began.

“We started in on our research, and realized immediately there was a lot of potential in Trinity,” Holtz said. “It just took us a long time to get the deal going. The downturn in the economy dried up lending in Florida, and we got busy doing deals up north.”

Yet, Holtz didn't give up on Trinity. The closest hotels are either around the Suncoast Parkway, or U.S. 19 -- both inconvenient drives for those living and working in Trinity.

“The Trinity corridor will vastly change over the coming years with all of the new homes, retail, office and industrial space coming on line,” said Dewey Mitchell of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Property Group, who brokered the deal.

State Road 54 is a connector road used frequently by locals as well as commuters from neighboring Hillsborough County, Mitchell added, making it a heavily traveled thoroughfare.

Holtz didn't provide additional details on MPH's agreement with Holiday Inn, except that his company will build, own and manage it.

The hotel's first guests could be welcomed by November.