Aug. 26. SECU, the North Carolina State Employees’ Credit Union, will soon tear down the now-closed Day’s Inn on Holiday Lane just west of I-77.

“We have outgrown our current branch location,” said SECU spokeswoman Sandra Jones. A new 8,500-square-foot branch will go up on the hotel property, just to the north of the existing branch.

Back in the day—when it was a Holiday Inn—the hotel was a gathering place, not just a way-station for travelers. Mayor Woody Washam said it was the scene of chamber dinners and wedding receptions.

Over the past couple of years, long after re-branding as a Days Inn, the property deteriorated. The motel was built in 1986 and has an appraised value of $2.3 million.

Demolition will get under way in the next 30 days, Jones said. Construction of the new branch begins in early 2020.

Jones said future road improvements could negatively impact access to the current branch.

“The acquisition of the additional property will allow us to solve both issues. We recognize we will have excess property, but at the current time we only have plans to build a replacement branch,” she said.

As far as the existing SECU branch is concerned, there’s been no decision on the future use.

The SECU property is across Holiday Lane from the now-demolished Acropolis restaurant where a QuikTrip convenience store and gas station was planned.

NCDOT plans twin roundabouts in the immediate area, one south and one north of Catawba Avenue.