HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS – A Mississippi hospitality investment group has purchased the Mission Inn Resort & Club with plans to make $10 million worth of improvements to the landmark golf destination.

MMI Hospitality Group will act as owner and operator of the 500-acre development, which has 176 hotel rooms, two golf courses, three restaurants, spa, and indoor and outdoor event space, the Flowwood, Mississippi company has announced. The golf courses have hosted many tournaments over the years.

Central Florida growth was key to the purchase, CEO Micajah Sturdivant said.

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“You’re in a pocket that's going to see a lot of change in the next 10 to 15 years,” he said, citing The Villages and growth expanding toward Lake County from Orlando as just two examples.

Improvements to Mission Inn will be made in phases, with $10 million being the first phase, he said. Renovations will include a new golf course irrigation system, a resort-sized swimming pool, landscaping and improving food and beverage services.

The hotel does not have a dedicated bar, Sturdivant said, and indoor and outdoor venue spaces will be improved.

One of the regular features is a weekend and holiday buffet. “One employee told us, ‘We have to move that piece of furniture every time.’ I said, ‘It sounds to me like that piece of furniture needs a new home,’ ” Sturdivant said.

MMI has created a design team from Orlando that is familiar with the area and has hired Cindy Staley of Apopka as the new general manager. Staley and her husband have been in the hospitality industry for 30 years, Sturdivant said.

Nicholas F. Beucher Family Part Packing House by Products Co. sold the resort to the private investment partnership in December. Property tax records indicate MMI paid $36,920,820 for 475 acres and $300,000 for about seven acres.

Mission Inn's history

Built by William J. Howey, the citrus magnate and developer of the town, it was called the Floridian Country Club when Illinois native Nick Beucher purchased it in 1964.

The club had fallen into disrepair until Beucher purchased it, according to MMI’s website.

Bud Beucher was managing the resort until he retired at the time of the sale, Sturdivant said.

MMI has been in business for 66 years.

“We’re not a gut and flip company,” Sturdivant said. “We’ve owned a beachfront property for 43 years.”

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Company buys Lake County's Mission Inn; $10M improvements planned