The former Rodeway Inn off of E. Washington Street in Petersburg went to auction yesterday and has a new owner, according to the Progress-Index.

United Structure Fabrication out of Canada gave the winning bid of $600,000. The owner was drawn to the auction because he had heard Petersburg is a beautiful town, and after placing the highest bid he stated his plans were not to demolish the hotel (as other bidders had planned), but instead wants to update the hotel with renovations.

Being just off I-95 places the hotel in a prime location for capturing travelers. Hopefully the revonations will make the hotel more appealing and boost the local economy.

"The bidding opened at $300,000, and just over three minutes later the gavel banged to signal a winning bid of $600,000 for the former Rodeway Inn.

About 30 people gathered Wednesday afternoon at the motel at 405 E. Washington St. to bid for the 120-room property, or to watch the action at the trustee's foreclosure auction.

Before the auction, Steven Karbelk, president of National Commercial Auctioneers, said the hotel had drawn potential bidders from as far away as Canada. And it was a Canadian company, with partners in New York, that ended up giving the top bid.

The company is United Structure Fabrication, a construction firm based in the Toronto area. Owner Muhammad Khan said he decided to come to Petersburg to look at the hotel because 'I heard it was a very beautiful town.'

Some of the other bidders had been planning to demolish the existing hotel and build a new one from scratch if they ended up winning the high-profile site next to Interstate 95. But Khan said his plan is to 'do some rework to bring it up to date and make a good profit.'

According to Petersburg property tax records, the hotel previously sold in 2004 for $2.6 million. The assessment for tax purposes this year is $2.7 million."

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