By Virginia Bridges

The Durham County commissioners plan to hold a public hearing tonight (Monday) on giving up to $605,000 economic incentive grant to a downtown Durham hotel project.

Commissioners will likely vote on whether to award the incentives to the Gentian Group’s Holland Hotel project after the public hearing.  The 7 p.m. meeting will be held on the second floor of the county’s Administration Building, 200 E. Main St.

Gentian Group, composed of Durham investors, plan an $11 million transformation of the former Home Savings building at 315 E. Chapel Hill St. into a 54-room hotel with a restaurant and rooftop bar, according to county documents.  Gentian Group’s total investment in the 41,000 square foot project is expected to exceed $11 million. 

If approved, the county would match the incentive grant that the Durham City Council approved last month. City and County grants would not be passed onto the project until certain provisions are met. For example, county payments, paid over a seven year period, would not begin until after the hotel was completed.