County of building: Monroe County
Location of building: 107 S. Main St., Amory
Established 1926
"One of Amory’s most recognizable landmarks will soon be back in business.
"Tupelo attorney T.K. Moffett has purchased the Park Hotel in downtown Amory and is restoring the structure.
"Moffett appeared before the mayor and board of aldermen last Tuesday night asking that the city’s metal sidewalk awnings be removed from in front of the hotel so that he can restore it to its original splendor.
"Moffett plans to move the hotel’s front door, entrance back to the center of the building, as it was when it was first built. The lobby is being restored and enlarged, ceilings are being raised and the old awning that was on the front will be restored.
"Plans are also in the works to put up the old original Park Hotel sign that was found.
"Moffett’s plans for the hotel which was first opened in 1926 call for a bed and breakfast to be put in on the second and third floors. Where there used to be 14 hotel rooms on each floor, Moffett said there will now be nine larger rooms per floor. The rooms that overlook the park out front will have fireplaces. They will also have modernized bathrooms with jacuzzis. All of the rooms will also be equipped with kitchenettes.
"A full-service restaurant is also planned for the first floor, open seven days a week serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Merri Sanderson will be managing the restaurant which will include a front cafe area decorated in a ‘50s theme.
"Sanderson said the new restaurant will not cause the closing of either her River Birch Daily Grind Restaurant or the Daily Grind Express.
"There will also be a large convention room in the north end of the building that can be leased for events such as wedding receptions. A brick courtyard will be built outside the back of the convention hall. A smaller meeting room will also be provided for things such as board meetings.
"The overall plan may also include some office space on the fourth floor. Moffett said he may move his Amory law office in there.
"Moffett said he had envisioned having his office in the Park Hotel when he first opened an Amory office a few years ago, but the building was not for sale at that time.
"Contractor on the project is Stephan Plum Construction.
"The target date for opening the restaurant is July 1, with the bed and breakfast opening by next spring.
'“I hope to make it look better than it used to originally,” Moffett said. “It will look like a nice hotel like you’d see in New York City.”
"Moffett likened his project to the one in West Point where the old hotel there was restored and is being used for housing.
"The city officials were not in unanimous agreement over removing the city’s metal awnings.
'“If we start taking down the awnings, there needs to be some semblance of order in doing so,” said Ward 1 Alderman Dan Rogers. “I’ve talked to people who have different opinions about it.”
"Rogers said he thought it would look a lot better for the metal structures to come down. He also said some of the awnings in other sections of downtown are in terrible condition and the city either needs to spend the money to repair them or take them down.
"However, Mayor Thomas Griffith said the awnings serve a purpose in the downtown area. He said they are especially good for people who want to shop and get out in inclement weather.
'“I don’t want this to be a precedent-setting thing about removing the awnings all over downtown,” Griffith said.
"Moffett said he was only wanting the awnings down immediately in front of his hotel property. “If others want them down, that’s OK,” Moffett said.
"Rogers said if other property owners on the Park Hotel block want them down, then the city should take those down to. “This block could be a test block for us to see how it would look and work,” he said.
"The board passed a motion to allow any of the awnings on the hotel block to be removed by the city at the property-owners’ request.
"Moffett said he’d like to see his awning gone soon because he has a time frame to get his restoration work done. “I want to have the front done in the next 45 days or so,” he said. “And I can’t work on it until the awning is down.”' ~ The Daily Journal, Tupolo, MS; By CHRIS WILSON, Ashley Elkins, Mar 24, 2004