Hotel Company Evaluating Berlin Site Off Route 113

BERLIN — What’s one of the things America’s coolest small town doesn’t have? The answer might be enough rooms to lodge overnight visitors.

A recent Worcester County hotel feasibility study has reflected favorably on property located in the town of Berlin on the south side of the intersection of Route 113 and Germantown Road. The site has caught the attention of a national lodging franchise and is a likely site for a new hotel.

The county confirmed this week that Berlin is a high priority location for lodging and that the private sector is taking a hard look at some property bordering Route 113. There is a clear need in Berlin, said Bill Badger, director of economic development for the county.

“If you think of Berlin, the coolest small town in America, it has 12 hotel rooms, plus some [bed and breakfast] rooms,” said Badger. “We also know from experience, when you get these designations from the prior winners there’s a surge in activity, which is a good thing for us. But where are we going to house them?”

Ocean City offers thousands of hotel rooms, but now that the areas outside of the resort beginning to come into their own and develop, Badger noted that people will want rooms closer to their target destinations.

The franchise looking at the property, Cobblestone Hotels, has a reputation for small- to medium-sized lodgings, which would be on pace with the growing town.

“If you look at the market in Worcester County, once you’re off the island there are not a whole lot of hotels. And one reason why this brand in particular was of interest is because they specialize in small towns and rural areas,” Badger said. “Our towns may not have the opportunity to attract an 80- to 120-room hotel but they specialize in a 32- to 44-room hotel, which is more of a right size for smaller markets.”

Cobblestone, a Midwest-based hotel group with locations in 14 other states, doesn’t have any sites in Maryland yet but has impressed the county with what it’s accomplished in other areas.

“They’re a small hotel with a quality product that you would see with a Holiday Inn Express or a Hampton Inn, as an example,” Badger said. “They prefer local ownership and it’s a passive investment. There were a lot of attractive features so we collectively all authorized some hotel feasibility studies and the Berlin site was one of those. And the numbers came back pretty strong.”

Nothing about the Berlin location is set in stone, though the feasibility study lends it a lot of support. The spot has highway access and is located within a short drive of many major points in Worcester, including Berlin, Ocean City, Ocean Pines and Assateague.

“Obviously, it’s a prime location with great access on US 113,” said Badger. “The dualization of US 113 coming up in the future will only add to the prominence of that location.”

The relationship between the property owner, county and Cobblestone seems by all accounts healthy, and Berlin Mayor Gee Williams predicted this week that a hotel at the site will happen.

“I don’t have my crystal ball, but I certainly would be willing to place money that this is something that is going to happen when all of the pieces come together for the parties that are involved,” he said.

It could be a “positive and permanent asset to the community,” continued the mayor, who saw the hotel as a base not just for day trippers into Berlin but for families with loved ones at Atlantic General Hospital as well as eco-tourism visitors.

Badger said the process is in the preliminary financing consideration phase with no confirmation or construction date available at this time.