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A seven-story hotel with a Vegas-style pool, lazy river and a higher-end restaurant is set to come to DeSoto County. "This is going to be something that's never been in DeSoto County before," Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite said. The Southaven Board of Aldermen on Tuesday night approved the designs for a new Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel.
The hotel will be a part of the Landers Center expansion and will be the first convention center with a hotel inside of it in the state of Mississippi, according to Musselwhite. It will be a "huge" tourism draw to Southaven, Musselwhite said at Tuesday's meeting. Big shows, big changes:How BankPlus Amphitheater plans to become top outdoor concert spot "I think the goal with this hotel in conjunction with the expansion of the Landers Center and the huge conference area they are providing in the convention center there, they're orienting it to bring in regional-level conferences and national-level conferences," said Whitney Choat-Cook, Southaven's city planning director.
"So it's going to compete more with the larger metropolitan areas." The hotel will feature a resort-style pool with a lazy river and will have an attached restaurant. It will have around 240 rooms. While Choat-Cook is not yet positive what the restaurant will be, she said it will be higher end. The hotel will not be explicitly attached to the Landers Center, but will be attached via walkways and parking. As of now, construction is set to begin both on the convention center and the hotel in the third quarter of 2023, Choat-Cook said.
The estimated completion and opening date is in 2025. The hotel is a part of a broader expansion of the Landers Center. In late 2021, the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $35 million bonding to dramatically enhance and grow the complex, which is owned by the DeSoto County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
At the time, Musselwhite hailed the expansion as a "great investment that will help take Southaven and DeSoto County to a new economic plateau." "This will, without a doubt, become a regional destination point with the attraction of combining business and entertainment in a walkable campus-type setting," Musselwhite said at the time.
"This financial commitment and investment will be paid back exponentially to our citizens with future economic returns.” Gina Butkovich covers DeSoto County, storytelling and general news. She can be reached at 901/232-6714.
