Downtown Knoxville may soon be home to a new hotel.
Atlanta-based Paramount Hospitality Management plans to transform the long-time vacant former News Sentinel property. It sits at the corner of State Street and Church Avenue.
Paramount President Nick Lakha says he plans to build an 11-story Residence Inn by Mariott there.
The $17 million hotel will have 120 suite-style rooms. The building will have a three-story parking garage incorporated into it with the ground level on the same level as the hotel lobby.
Paramount bought the site for $1.1 million.
So far, there is no set opening date.
Lakha says it's an ideal spot for a hotel and will give travelers a different option.
"We feel that it's going to fill an existing void in the Downtown Knoxville hotel market," said Lakha. "Residence Inn by Mariott is an upscale, extended stay hotel, which is designed to cater to the long stays of business and leisure travelers."
Paramount is also turning the old Days Inn on Cumberland Avenue into a Hilton Garden Inn. Lakha says work is well underway and it's set to open in April 2013.