The Threefoot Building, Meridian.

Work on the Courtyard by Marriott hotel at the Threefoot Building in Meridian could begin in about 30 days.

“The project is moving forward,” John Tampa, president of Ascent Hospitality Management, LLC, told the Rotary Club of Meridan on Wednesday. “I feel the project is much better today than it was a year ago.”

Tampa said he is waiting for final permits to be approved, which he expects to happen on Friday. He also said the 30-day start date depends on “financing.”

Once construction on the historic building begins, it should take between 16 and 18 months to complete, he said.

Ascent initially committed to spending at least $14 million to renovate the circa-1930 building. Tampa said that number has increased to about $22 million.  Tampa also said the proposed number of rooms has increased from 120 to about 130 rooms. The ground floor of the hotel will have a restaurant, a Starbucks coffee shop and 1,100-square feet of retail space. Valet parking will also be available for guests.

Tampa said an average occupancy of 60 to 70 percent will be needed to maintain the hotel.

“Meridian is a great market, but we want this market to grow,” Tampa said. “[Downtown] is where the future is… that’s why we’re investing in it.”

Initially scheduled to begin in July, Ascent continues to work toward breaking ground at the historic building.

In an interview last month, Tray Hairston of Butler Snow LLP, who represents Ascent, said the renovation could cost “a little bit more than [$22 million]” given certain “environmental” issues that need to be addressed. At the time of the report, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality was in the process of testing samples taken from the building.

Hairston said Meridian Downtown Hotels, LLC, a subsidiary of Ascent, would work with MDEQ “to determine a game plan for removal of the containments and demolition/construction inside the building and stands poised to start the process as soon as it has the green light from both MDEQ and City.”

“Nevertheless, the target completion date is by the close of 2018,” he said at the time. 

The building is Tampa’s second hotel in Meridian, with the Fairfield Inn & Suites off U.S. Highway 11/80 being the first one. 

The Threefoot was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and designated a Mississippi Landmark in 2008. The Meridian City Council approved a final agreement for the sale of the building in October 2015.