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New hotel slated for
San Rafael
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com
© 2004 North Bay Business Journal
BY JEFF QUACKENBUSH
STAFF REPORTER
SAN RAFAEL -- A quarter-century and several proposals later, Fred Grange
thinks he has found the winning project for 1775 Francisco Boulevard: an
85-room Hampton Inn & Suites slated for completion in mid to late 2005.
Mr. Grange, a longtime Marin developer who also owns Grange Debris Box
& Wrecking, first tried to build a luxury ministorage complex disguised
as an office building on the two-acre site fronting Interstate 580. Then he
tried to build a store for upscale appliance retailer Michael's.
The major problem had been traffic, he says. The size and scope of a
project is dictated by the traffic flow anticipated, based on various
factors such as prominence of location. So, instead of a 110-room hotel,
Mr. Grange is building the 85-room business-oriented hotel franchised by
Hilton. Fairfield-based Hearn Construction is preparing the site,
landscaping, and building pad. Bidding on the rest of the $10 million-plus
project will close June 9. The architect is Hilton-brand veteran Bob
Sauvageau of RYS in San Francisco.
Hampton Inn locations range in size from 80-120 rooms and have room rates
of $90-$100/night. Mr. Grange's franchise will be managed by Marin
Management, which has five Hampton locations in its portfolio. Rates will
range from $90 on weekends to $120 on weekdays.
Hampton Inns have dinettes in about 30% of the units, or about 25 rooms at
Mr. Grange's site. Though lacking a restaurant, his hotel will have a
covered swimming pool, fitness center and spa, business center with
computers and office equipment, and broadband Internet connections in each
room.
Timing may be right
Mr. Grange's hotel will be the first new business hotel in Marin in several
years, following Embassy Suites in Terra Linda and Courtyard by Marriott in
Larkspur Landing. Difficulty in getting new hotel projects approved makes
Marin an attractive hotel market. But large chains tend to let local
developers tackle projects in difficult areas such as the Bay Area and Lake
Tahoe, according to Mr. Sauvageau.
The timing of the project may be right. CB Richard Ellis' Torto Wheaton
Research arm released a study in late May of projected returns on
investments for various types of commercial property. Full-service hotels
are projected to have increasing profit ratios in the next few years,
according to the study. Shocks to the hospitality industry in the Bay Area
from the recession and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 are
beginning to subside, and hoteliers are no longer having to sacrifice room
rates as much to maintain vacancy, says John Manderfeld of Marin Management.
Other commercial property is projected to have no growth in value or a
decline, the Torto Wheaton study concluded.
Additional factors favorable to Mr. Grange's hotel site are visibility from
Interstate 580, which has been a major source of oil-industry corporate
patronage for Courtyard, Mr. Manderfeld says.
Other sources of business, especially for central and southern Marin are
attendees of conventions in San Francisco and salespeople calling on
companies in the North Bay, San Francisco, and East Bay, he adds.
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