<h3>By Kat Walsh</h3>
Two big-name hotels – a Hilton and a Marriott – and several other smaller hotels will soon be coming to Beaufort.

The attention that Beaufort is getting from these big brands is reflective of the community’s potential.

“Our view is that they do their homework” and recognize that potential, said said Bill Prokop, Beaufort town manager.

Smaller, independent projects are also on the agenda.

To date, those properties are:

• <b>Springhill Suites at 2227 Boundary. </b>The existing Econolodge will be removed to make a home for the new Springhill Suites. Belonging to the Marriott Hotel Group, the property will be all suites.

• <b>Home2 by Hilton at 12 County Shed Road.</b> A new 107 all-suite, extended stay hotel. A higher-end property in the Hilton line, the rooms are apartment-like. At the May 12 meeting of the Design Review Board, Tom Michaels, project architect, said that the hotel would feature a connection to the Spanish Moss Trail. Libby Anderson, planning director, said it would also provide “a node for commercial development in this area.”

• <b>Scott/Port Republic Street Hotel. </b>On the agenda for consideration by the Historic District Review Board on Wednesday, Sept. 17, was a new 70-unit, three-story hotel with commercial space on the ground floor and parking under the building. The Scott/Port Republic Street hotel, proposed by 303 Associates, would be located on the southwest corner of Port Republic and Scott streets.

• <b>Beaufort Inn Cottage, 310 Scott St. </b>The proposal to construct a new cottage house between 208 and 301 Scott for the Beaufort Inn was considered at the Historical Review Board’s June meeting.