In a town hall session with stakeholders and alumni, Rollins College President Grant Cornwell announced the plans to expand the Alfond Inn are on hold—for now. The planned expansion, announced by the college in April of 2019, includes the addition of a spa, wellness center, and 73 new guest rooms, bringing the total to 185.
When speaking to supporters about the institution’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cornwell alluded a “time out” in the development and construction process to analyze the changing needs in the travel and tourism market is necessary. On a larger scale, reduced travel and mobility has plagued the hotel industry in recent months, forcing many hotels to close or exist with a fraction of normal occupancy levels.
Rollins’ future is still bright according to Cornwell, who announced that the process of completing construction documents would continue. “We will wait on putting construction documents out for bid, though,” he said. “We may be able to get better pricing in the future.”
Cornwell did strike an optimistic tone about the future of the project. “We have the funding. We’ll get back to it at the right time.”