A proposal to build a hotel in downtown Redwood City is up for a public hearing this week after it was entitled in 2017 because project plans have since been modified to include an additional level and about 20 more rooms.
The Architectural Advisory Committee on Jan. 17 will review the Holiday Inn Express & Suites proposal, which entails 112 rooms in a five-story building at 1690 Broadway. The original plans included subterranean parking, but now the garage with 94 stalls plus 12 spots for bikes will be located on the first floor.
Applicant Viren Patel said he abandoned subterranean parking because of the cost and risks associated with such an endeavor — the site has been designated a flood zone by the Federal Emergency Management Agency — and the extra story was added to compensate for that loss of space. The plan is to also offer around-the-clock valet service.
The site is currently home to the Garden Motel, an aging two-story building with 17 rooms built about 40 years ago. Patel grew up in the building and still runs the hotel with his family, but it’s time for an upgrade, he said. The existing hotel would be demolished and he and his family will continue to own and operate the new hotel.
“The existing property is a big blight to the community so they want to see it go,” he said. “We want to demolish it and put in a nice beautiful hotel for the downtown and visitors.”
With 112 rooms and a total of 77,057 square feet, the hotel would be among the largest in the city. Patel noted the city’s downtown precise plan includes 200 hotel units, of which zero have been constructed since the plan was adopted in 2011. He also said the building’s height is consistent with other buildings in the area.
Patel claimed Redwood City has been losing out on transient occupancy tax revenue in recent years as neighboring cities have built new hotels, but Redwood City has not.
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The proposed hotel will bring in about $780,000 annually in transient occupancy tax plus $800,000 in impact fees, not to mention property taxes, he said, adding that companies such as Kaiser, Stanford and Google, which have recently moved into town, need hotels.
Patel plans to partner with technology-driven construction company Katerra, which would allow for much of the construction work to be done offsite.
“There will be less laborers in the area, which means less noise for the community, less traffic on roads and the project is built quicker,” he said.
Patel hopes to begin demolition by early March and soon after break ground. Construction is expected to span 15 months.
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