A $14 million hotel project in Rocky Mount is moving forward, with an 88-room Hampton by Hilton planned for North Main Street, a conference center attached, construction expected to start next month, and an opening targeted for summer 2028.
A Years-Long Push Toward Groundbreaking
According to WSET, the hotel will feature 88 rooms and a conference center, with construction expected to begin in November 2026 and the property expected to open in summer 2028. Town leaders hope the hotel will draw more visitors and give the local economy a boost, the station reports. Rocky Mount Mayor C. Holland Perdue III said a private investor, not the town, is funding the $14 million project.
The hotel push has been in motion for years and has been described differently across local reporting. The Rocky Mount Town Council announced in 2023 that it was working with developer Om Shree Suites LLC on a new hotel, according to The Franklin News-Post, which reported that company founder Amit Patel said he planned to invest $14 million toward building an 85-room hotel. That account differs from the room count in the more recent WSET report, which says the project is funded by a private investor but does not name the investor.
Conflicting Details On Timeline And Location
A separate report from early 2025 adds more layers to the project's history. WDBJ7 described an 88-room Hampton Inn and conference center planned for Grassy Hill Road, behind a KFC, rather than the North Main Street site named in the newer WSET report. That same station reported that the Town of Rocky Mount and Hilton agreed to bring the hotel to town in 2023, and separately quoted a figure attributing the $14 million investment to Hilton rather than to Om Shree Suites LLC.
Timelines have also shifted. The station's report from February 2025 said construction was hoped to begin that summer, with completion targeted for late 2026 — a markedly different schedule than the November 2026 construction start and summer 2028 opening now described by WSET. None of the available reporting resolves which room count, investor, location, or timeline is accurate, and Hoodline is presenting the competing accounts as reported rather than choosing between them.
What Local Leaders Say The Hotel Could Mean
Perdue told WSET that the hotel is a good addition because local construction workers, work travelers, and event attendees need lodging, and that the project will provide more lodging options for people visiting Franklin County and create jobs. Job creation estimates have varied between reports: the Franklin News-Post previously reported the project was expected to create 18 jobs, while WDBJ7 quoted an estimate of 18 to 20 jobs created.
Perdue has also pointed to regional events as a reason more hotel rooms could help Rocky Mount. Per the earlier WDBJ7 account, he said that having more hotels in town could pay off during race weekends at Martinsville Speedway and other local events. That framing lines up with broader tourism numbers for the area: according to Franklin County, Virginia, visitor spending in the county reached $74.7 million in 2024, supporting 547 local jobs and generating $2.9 million in tourism-related taxes.
For now, the project's exact scope remains defined by dueling local reports rather than a single confirmed set of details. What is consistent across the coverage is the headline price tag — $14 million — and the expectation among town leaders that a new hotel, whenever and wherever it ultimately opens, will mean more beds for visitors to Rocky Mount and Franklin County.
