By Jason Clay Jansky

Construction on a new Holiday Inn Express hotel in Kenedy will begin soon, county economic development officials announced recently.

Zinod Kasan, CEO of Ocean Gates Hotel Management and Development Group out of McAllen, has purchased property across from the Kenedy Wal-Mart on the east side of U.S. Highway 181.

The company has plans to construct a three-story Holiday Inn Express hotel on the site within the next six to nine months.

"I met with him again in September and he said his hopes were to start construction in about 45 days — possibly early November or mid-November," county economic development Executive Director Terry Trevino said. "It probably will take about six months to construct. A lot of it’s dependent on scheduling of contractors. It takes a couple of months to move the dirt, level it off, do the surveying … and all the preliminary work."

The three-story building will have around 70 rooms, a large conference room that will accommodate around 150 people, and professional landscaping.

A Holiday Inn Express is a smaller, but just-as-nice version of a regular Holiday Inn, Trevino explained.

The inn will be located on Business Park Drive in Kenedy.

"If you’re looking at Wal-Mart, it’ll be to the left on the very back corner," Trevino said.

Click here to see a site map of the planned new hotel.