By Daniel C. Houston
Staff Writer
Baylor has purchased the Hotel Waco property with the ultimate intention of expanding campus across the Brazos River, a Baylor spokesperson confirmed Monday.
The hotel, which is located near I-35 at 1001 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, will be razed after all salvageable contents are removed, said Lori Fogleman, director of media relations.
“We have no immediate plans for the property but we are always looking for opportunities to allow the university to plan for future growth and expansion,” Fogleman said.
Baylor will assume ownership of the property Friday.
Fogleman said the university has been interested in the property for several years but did not comment on what type of facilities the university would likely construct there.
“It is an excellent piece of land that runs adjacent to the river and we will use it as best we can at some future time,” Fogleman said.
Fogleman said the location “had been in bankruptcy and receivership” before Baylor purchased it. Roa Ramavaram, general manager at Hotel Waco, confirmed the title to the property is currently in possession of Community National Bank of Midland.
Hotel Waco, which had previously done business under the name of Holiday Inn, reportedly defaulted on $3.7 million it owed before being foreclosed upon by the bank, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.
Although Baylor has not yet disclosed the price it paid for the property, its market value is estimated to be $2.9 million, according to the McLennan County Appraisal District. This valuation includes a land value of $1.1 million, while the building itself and other improvements are estimated at $1.8 million.
