"Bill Hull believes in the project and kept 25% of the ownership entity," Effler tells GlobeSt.com. "He is the original developer of the hotels and had some passive investors out of Florida that were looking to exit for estate planning purposes."

The location of the property, as the main hospitality exit in Rocky Mount one mile from a spot on Interstate 95 that is equidistant between New York and Florida, played a big part in RockBridge's interest, according to Effler. "What we really like is these hotels serve distinct markets from a hotel traveler perspective," he says.

For example, the 78-room Residence Inn caters to the extended-stay traveler, the 90-room Courtyard caters to the business traveler and the 125-room Comfort Inn caters to the budget-minded traveler. The 166-room Doubletree, which was recently underwent a $6.5-million conversion from a Holiday Inn, will cater those searching for a high-quality, full-service hotel.