As North Alabama Development Group LLC of Scottsboro plans forthe groundbreaking, it's finishing a 77-room hotel next door. NeilVictor, senior adviser with Sperry Van Ness' Huntsville, AL office,says the just-completed hotel at 26000 John T. Reid Pkwy.originally was slated as a Best Western, but will now do businessunder the Comfort Inn flag.

Victor is marketing the remaining 25.1 acres remaining ofCherokee Trace to retail, multifamily residential and restaurantdevelopers. He says North Alabama Development is bringinghospitality product on line at just the right time. "There's ashortage of hotel space in Scottsboro and a shortage of multifamilyin the area," he says.

Victor tells GlobeSt.com that one guaranteed boost in demand forhotel space is Bellefonte, a nuclear power plant six milesnortheast of Scottsboro. The facility was constructed in the 1970sand never completed. With the search on for alternative energy, theUS government is re-licensing nuclear facilities and Bellefonte isin line. "If that goes through, that will bring in 850 workerswithin the next year or two and up to 3,000 workers when the entireproject is done," Victor says.