Hotel

Project Description:

Hotel Tupelo is a full-service boutique hotel located on the corner of Main Street just off U.S. Highway 45 in downtown Tupelo, Mississippi. The $16.3 million project opened in 2021 and was designed to focus on enhancing tourism and the community with Mississippi artisans, artists, and designers prominently displayed throughout the building. Strategically located adjacent to the BancorpSouth Arena and Conference Center, and just one mile from the Elvis Presley Birthplace, it offers 79 guest rooms, meeting space, restaurant, communal lobby and a public balcony overlooking Main Street.

CE Role:

In 2020, CE was engaged by the project owner/developer as a tax incentive consultant to assist in various tasks/roles related to the Mississippi Tourism Rebate Program. As part of the program’s required application material, CE developed an independent impact analysis for the project identifying the number of anticipated visitors and assessing the project’s potential economic benefits. This analysis included job creation and wage estimates, direct, indirect and induced economic output estimates, and modeling both state and local tax revenue generation directly resulting from the proposed project.

Additionally, CE assisted the owner/developer throughout the application process, coordinating information and communication with the Mississippi Development Authority (“MDA”), presenting analysis and findings to MDA staff, and providing technical assistance, as necessary, during public hearings and meetings. In June of 2020, the MDA awarded the project just over $5.1 million in tourism tax incentives.