Updated February 1, 2019

The Polk Motel property on Nashville Highway in Columbia has a new owner, who plans to develop a 110-room Courtyard by Marriott Hotel.

David Hunt, of Hunt Services, Inc. in Jackson, closed a $5 million deal in January with Columbia’s Clay Neal of JRN, Inc., previous owner of the 14-acre site. Hunt said the hotel and conference center will be enhanced by a 20,000-square-foot retail center and four restaurants.

The Courtyard by Marriott will be finished by June 2020. Hunt was the developer for The Hampton Inn and the adjacent strip mall in Pulaski.