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RUMFORD — The $5.5 million Best Western Plus Inn and Suites is expected to open in November, the developer told the Planning Board on Wednesday.

“We want to be ready for the next ski season,” Tony Carter, president of Pennacook Falls Investments Ltd., said.

Footers have been poured for the Best Western Plus Inn and Suites at 50 Prospect Ave. in Rumford. The goal is to open the hotel in eight months. Submitted photo

The footers are in for the three-story hotel at 50 Prospect Ave., and concrete were poured Friday to complete the foundation work, he said. It’ll be about 30 days before the slab is poured, he said.

A five-man crew has been working at the site this winter.

“We’ve got a framer coming from Wells,” Carter said, and once the frame is up, plumbing and electrical will follow.

The builder, Tom Lund of Lund Inn Construction on Seminole, Texas, visited the site Saturday to look at the foundation and get the other contractors in place. The firm has built 15 hotels, including five with the Best Western flag.

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Melan Hotel Group, based in New Hampshire, is the hospitality management company for the property, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the hotel.

Hotel amenities include 12 suites, an indoor pool and a hot tub, a fitness room and a meeting room.

Located on the former Puiia Hardware property, the project began in 2016 but stalled due to permitting and financial issues.

“We’re still moving ahead,” Carter said. “Financing is in place. We’re pulling funds from our loans with the bank and paying our contractors on time.”

Carter said his mantra has been: “If we build this, they’ll be more things to come.”

“And that’s our goal,” he said. “There’s 29 local community members that support it and it was our brain child.”

An architectural drawing shows the 63-room Best Western Plus Inn and Suites at 50 Prospect Ave. in Rumford. Submitted photo

Bruce Farrin is editor for the Rumford Falls Times, serving the River Valley with the community newspaper since moving to Rumford in 1986. In his early days, before computers, he was responsible for...

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