Developer plans $13M Branson hotel conversion

A California-based company that last year converted a Branson hotel into an apartment complex is planning to do the same for an adjacent property.

Drever Partners expects to begin work later this summer on a $13 million redevelopment of the former Hall of Fame Motel, 3005 W. 76 Country Blvd. Galen Drever, managing director, said the real estate development company in March 2022 purchased the property for an undisclosed price from Mike McDowell and continued to operate it as an extended stay hotel through the fall. The 143-room hotel was closed in December in advance of the planned redevelopment for 138 apartments dubbed The Penleigh-Live Oak.

Drever said the project will be similar to The Penleigh-Branson Row, a 324-apartment complex the company opened last year. Drever Partners in 2021 purchased the property at 300 N. Francis St., which was formerly Angel Inn by the Strip, a hotel off of 76 Country Boulevard and north of the Hollywood Wax Museum, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. For that project, the on-site buildings were overhauled, including flooring, cabinetry, electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems.

“It’s kind of the same model as the Branson Row. We’ll have about 127 studio, 10 one-bedroom and there’s just one two-bedroom,” Drever said of apartments planned for The Penleigh-Live Oak.

The project’s general contractor is still being determined, Drever said. Plans call for Live Oak to include laundry facilities and an outdoor pavilion with barbecue grills where a former swimming pool was filled in a few years back, he said. Amenities at the Branson Row complex include a clubhouse, gym, swimming pool with outdoor barbecue and cabanas, a playground, laundry lounge and a dog park, according to officials.

Additionally, Branson Row residents have access to job training programs and after-school tutoring free of charge, Drever said. Nonprofits the company partners with on the programs include Ozarks Area Community Action Corp. and Boys & Girls Club of the Ozarks.

“We do want to find a way to connect the properties,” he said of Live Oak and Branson Row. “We’ll find a way to do so that will allow everyone to reap the benefits of the different programs we have.”

Monthly rent starts at $775 with an additional $25 per month charge for electricity. Leases of 12 months are available, and residents can receive a $25 monthly discount for early payment, Drever said.

Company officials are aiming for a fall 2024 opening, depending on the finalization of construction plans.

“We’re estimating about 14 months from the start of construction,” Drever said.