Helena bed and breakfast project nears completion, Hoover location planned
A boutique bed and breakfast project in Helena is nearing completion, and its developer now has her sights set on a similar endeavor in Hoover.
Buck Creek BNB is projected to open in May on Lake Davidson Lane, said real estate broker and developer Jordan Masaeid-Hosey, who heads the project. She is broker for Housed by Hosey and CEO of Game On Bnb, a short-term rental company.
The 10,000-square foot Buck Creek BNB has eight units of individually-themed two and three-bedroom suites, with laundry, kitchen, living room and balcony with views of Buck Creek. There will also be an on-site hot tub spa, a deck overlooking the creek for communal use, and a special area for travelers with pets.
It also is adjacent to shopping and restaurants in Old Town Helena which offers visitors a “Hallmark feel,” she said. Masaeid-Hosey said it will be the first lodging option for Helena since 1877.
In addition to Buck Creek, Masaeid-Hosey is planning Brock’s Gap BNB in Hoover, at Mineral Trace and Stadium Trace Parkway, tentatively scheduled to open in 2025. This project will feature a different, more vertical design, with 17 suites to hold up to 10 people, a breakfast and spa open on the first floor, and a rooftop bar and pool overlooking the Hoover Met.
The concept has its roots in how travelers use the Internet to search for lodging.
“Airbnb is its own brand,” she said. “People who come to Helena or Hoover aren’t Googling for hotels. For us to be able to continue to evolve with technology and the way it’s being used, we don’t want to be called a hotel or motel. We want to embrace the southern value that a bed and breakfast has to offer to people.”
Earlier this month, Hoover’s city council prohibited rentals of homes in residential neighborhoods for less than 30 days, except for special events. Masaeid-Hosey, a Hoover High graduate and resident, was one who spoke in favor of allowing such rentals.
“We listened,” she said. “This is what the people say they want, lodging in a commercial zone.”
The Hoover project still has several planning and procedural steps to go, but she said the project will appeal to large, millennial groups coming to the city for events who aren’t looking for large numbers of hotel rooms.
“Hotels currently in the city do not serve those who have the desire to keep larger groups and families together,” she said. “When you commute to Hoover for sports, entertainment, for galas, you don’t have a place for those people who want to have a living room, kitchen, private bedrooms with a private door.”
Brock’s Gap is looking for spa, dining and bar partners to craft an all-inclusive lodging destination.
“We want to really create an overall experience for the traveler who is looking for something beyond the hotel standard bedroom setting,” Madaeid-Hosey said. “We are looking to closely work with Hoover’s planners and city council members, as well as the Trace Crossings members, to evolve something that fills a much-needed gap that we feel we can bridge for our community and travelers.”