New motel planned

November 21, 1997

By STEVEN T. DENNIS

Staff Writer

Hagerstown developer Stephen B. Sagi wants to build a 98-room Sleep Inn motel and a combination fast-food/convenience store on Sharpsburg Pike just south of Wendy's, according to a rezoning application.

If the three-story motel is built, it would continue a growth trend on Md. 65 and in hotel rooms. There are nearly 2,000 hotel rooms in the county, with two new motels being added in the past two years.

Last year, the 118-room Hampton Inn opened on Dual Highway, and this year, a 75-room Comfort Suites motel is expected to open on Dual Highway, with another 70-room addition planned for two years from now.

Sleep Inn is a fast-growing budget chain in the Choice Hotels lodging empire. Sleep Inns offer a satisfaction guarantee and have room rates in the $40 to $60 range, according to the company. There are 148 Sleep Inns and 152 more under development.

The company also said Sleep Inns only require 12 full-time employees per 100 rooms.

A two-acre rezoning of a portion of the property from Highway Interchange 2, a residential zone, to Highway Interchange 1, a commercial zone, is needed for the development.

According to the application, a restaurant also is planned behind the motel.

Sagi, owner of Valley Properties Inc., Georgie's Subs and Pizza and Landon Exports, struggled financially when recession hit in 1989 after borrowing $22 million from Home Federal and Hagerstown Trust to build a real estate empire in the 1980s. The banks and other creditors then foreclosed on millions of dollars of his property. Some of the foreclosed property was later purchased by his wife, Iris.

Sagi didn't return phone calls Thursday or Friday.

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