By Roland Murphy for AZBEX – BEXclusive
Developer West77 Partners plans to build a four-story, 126-room extended stay hotel at the SEC of 91st Avenue and Interstate 10 in Tolleson.
The Tolleson City Council approved the site plan request with stipulations for drainage, retention, water lines, screening, landscaping and similar items in its July 9 meeting.
The LivAway Suites hotel will be situated adjacent to a recently constructed McDonald’s and Starbucks.
The C-2 commercial zoning for the property has been in place for approximately 40 years, according to City officials, and a hotel use is permitted by right.
West77 Partners Chief Development Officer Paul Duncan presented the project to Council and explained LivAway is a sister company/spinoff brand from West77, which has traditionally focused on multifamily development. He explained West77 had previously developed Woodsprings Suites hotels for the Choice Hotels brand but decided to branch off on its own to develop lodging facilities according to its own vision.
Duncan said community integration is a key focus for the company and explained its efforts to coordinate closely with community members, planning staff and public safety officials and staff to maintain property standards, guest appeal and ensure the properties do not become a draw for criminal activities, which is a common neighborhood concern when a new extended stay hotel is proposed.
Planned amenities include on-site laundry and a fitness area. Unusually for a hotel development, there will be no swimming pool. Duncan said a pool was not included because guest surveys showed minimal demand for the feature and because implementation and maintenance add significantly to costs.
“We’re not adding a bunch of extras to the site,” he said. ‘We’re not adding a pool and things that are rarely used. We’re giving them what we have heard our guests need and being able to charge less on a weekly or monthly basis so that they can stay here.”
Because of the company’s experience in multifamily development, the design vision for the room is intended to replicate a studio apartment as closely as possible, Duncan said.
The total site area is 2.37 acres, and the gross floor area is 60.9KSF. The planned building height is 48 feet, six inches. A total of 143 parking spaces is planned, including six handicapped-accessible spaces.
The property owner is RRS & Company (Pathfinder 320 LLC). West77 Partners is the developer. The design firm is BRR Architecture, Inc. EPS Group is the engineering and planning firm.
