Prospera Cos. is planning to build at least two more combos in the coming year. "They're complementary. They drive traffic to each other," Jay Rajpal, president of Prospera Cos., explains to GlobeSt.com. "Because we buy sort of prime locations, it makes sense to do retail next to it. And, we can take down a larger piece of land or a more expensive piece of land." Dirt work has just started on the first combo product at 1405 S. Hwy 81 in Decatur.

Rajpal says the retail component, though, isn't patterned after the recognizable La Quinta design. "It's contemporary," he says, adding that was done to build in a separate identity although under one owner's umbrella.

The Decatur hotel will sit on two of the developer's five acres at the crossroads of US. Hwy 81 and 287. Prospera Plaza will deliver in December, with the hotel coming on line in February 2008.