A North Carolina developer will build a Marriott Courtyard hotel on the Island Point development in Lewiston, casting doubt over Auburn’s hope to lure a Marriott hotel to its side of the river.
Winston Hotels Inc., in Raleigh, N.C., announced Tuesday it will begin next spring constructing a 120-room hotel on Mill Street at the foot of Great Falls, according to a press release. Lincoln Jeffers, Lewiston’s city administrator assistant, told the Sun Journal he thinks the hotel will spur more development in the nearby Cowan Mill, where plans for condos and a restaurant stalled after being announced in 2005.
Despite the announcement, developers George Schott and Bob Baldacci said they would continue to try to build a Marriott franchise over the river near the Auburn Mall.