A multimillion-dollar hotel and conference center facility has opened on Fort Atkinson’s northwest side.

The 83-room Country Inn & Suites hotel with meeting and convention space for up to 250 people is located at 1650 Doris Drive between the Holiday Inn Express and Fort HealthCare Clinic.

“We are excited to make an impact on Fort Atkinson and be the first to open a new hotel in nearly two decades in this great city,” said MaryJo Eggers, the hotel’s regional general manager. “The hotel’s fresh design, coupled with our kind and caring staff, makes for a great recipe for success that we can’t wait to share with our guests.”

The newly constructed hotel features the brand’s latest design with modern interiors, stylish furnishings and spacious guest rooms and suites.

“This hotel fits perfectly into our five-year strategic plan to accelerate the transformation of our Country Inn & Suites by Radisson portfolio to our Generation 4 product,” said Aly El-Bassuni, senior vice president, Franchise Operations, Americas, Radisson Hotel Group. “Built from the Gen 4 prototype design, this new hotel is an ideal example of that plan in action and with an owner and management team committed to delivering outstanding hospitality to our guests.”

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson is one of seven brands held by the Radisson Hotel Group, with more than 1,370 hotels in operation and under development in 110-plus countries and territories worldwide.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Country Inn and Suites features residential architecture and welcoming interiors to give travelers a feeling of home Eggers said.

She said that its location at the intersection of the State Highway 26 Bypass and U.S. Highway 12 makes it the ideal destination for guests visiting the Fireside Dinner Theatre, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater or local businesses and attractions within the Jefferson County area.

In addition to offering 83 guestrooms and suites, Eggers noted that visitors have access to a fitness center, 24-hour business center, indoor swimming pool and free Wi-Fi.

There are four meeting rooms with flexible configurations for gatherings for up to 250 guests.

Eggers said the hotel serves as an excellent space for hosting special events, as well as more intimate occasions such as business seminars and small conferences.

She added that each meeting room features Wi-Fi, audio-visual equipment, projector screens and catering service.

Also, hotel operations manager Nicole Pfeifer pointed out that the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce and its members will be the first to hold an event in the hotel’s meeting space with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and “Business After Hours” on Nov. 15 to allow the business community to celebrate the opening of the hotel.

Regular guests to the hotel also will have access to a bar and lounge in the foyer area of the banquet space on weeknights and weekends when an event is not taking place.

Pfeifer also noted that the hotel will offer a complimentary, hot breakfast to guests every morning.

Development of the new hotel was undertaken by Connery Construction and Cornerstone Hotel Management Inc., the same group that brought in the Holiday Inn Express 18 years ago. The property once was owned by the Allen and Doris Hetts family as Crescent Beauty Farm and portions remain under the CBF Investments.

Developer Tim Connery, husband of Randy Hetts, has been acting as a representative in recent sales and developments of the site.

The family once owned 240 acres just outside the city limits. Following Allen’s death at age 52 in 1973, Doris continued the farm until 1988, when the herd was dispersed as Highway 12 was being altered and the State Highway 26 bypass was being developed.

Not long after, the School District of Fort Atkinson expressed an interest in acquiring 50 acres of the property, which ended up being the first sale of property. From that point, development of the site began with what is now a Fort HealthCare facility, having originally been a Piggly Wiggly Supermarket.

Two additional lots on the eastern end of the property were sold for the former Stockade Restaurant (now The Rustic Smokehouse) and to Tom Becker for a strip mall.

When that was successful, development continued along Madison Avenue. Additional space was developed, including another strip mall, the Goodwill Industries store and the Holiday Inn Express.

With a shift in the economy, development of the site slowed. However, CBF Investments continued to put the pieces of the puzzle together, leading to development of the hotel and a few other sites, including an Arby’s restaurant and another strip mall that includes a Dunkin’ Donuts.

Also, due to the added development, the city conducted multiple studies and gained approval from the state to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Reena and Madison avenues.