VICTORIAN INN GROWS WITH 32 MORE ROOMS

MidAmerica Hotels Corp. will construct a 32-room addition to the Victorian Inn at Cape Girardeau.

Construction begins Monday, said Dan Drury of MidAmerica Hotels.

With the expansion, the Victorian Inn will have a total of 132 rooms.

The project will include a 40-foot wide atrium, with an indoor pool and whirlpool, recreational and leisure areas.

"We will have two indoor pools and two whirlpools and a whole lot of `rec' area," Drury said.

Construction of the hotel addition will correspond with construction of the new Cracker Barrel Restaurant, which will be built immediately south of the Victorian Inn on property purchased from MidAmerica Hotels.

The project is part of MidAmerica Hotels' plan to build a complete hospitality center on the property, which includes Holiday Inn, Victorian Inn, West Park Convention Center, Universal Physique and the proposed Cracker Barrel Restaurant, Drury said.

The entire complex, announced by MidAmerica Hotels in July 1990, will be called "West Park Hospitality Center."

This expansion is the second phase of the project and should be completed by February or March.

"I'm sure there will be another phase in the complex," Drury said. "Not necessarily at the Victorian Inn. We're about to run out of room."

MidAmerica Hotels, in addition to lodging establishments, also owns and operates 18 Burger King restaurants, Auburn Outdoor Sign Co., and a development company. MidAmerica employees more than 1,200 people with an annual payroll in excess of $8 million.