By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
The Arizona hotel market is continuing its post-pandemic resurgence with a pair of newly proposed mid-size lodging projects making their way through the approval process.
LivSmart Studios by Hilton
A third hotel development is under consideration for the active pipeline in Yuma. It would also mark the fourth in Yuma County.
Hiline Yuma LLC, which traces back to Phoenix-based retail and mixed-use developer Christifulli Companies, presented a request for an aesthetic review to the Yuma Design and Historic Review Commission in its April 24 meeting.
The proposed project is a four-story, 120-room LivSmart Studios by Hilton hotel planned on 2.6 acres at 1863 E. 16th St., southeast of the intersection of 16th Street/US. Route 95 and Interstate 8.
According to the submitted materials, “The proposed work is a new construction, wood framed, 4-story, 120 guestrooms ‘LivSmart Studios’ hotel by Hilton. The guests will have access to a “grab and go breakfast” which includes items prepared and pre-packaged off-site, fitness center, and on-site laundry. The exterior amenities include an outdoor pool and furniture. There will also be grills and a gas fire pit for the guests to use.”
The property is zoned General Commercial/Aesthetic Overlay (B-2/AO) District. According to the staff analysis, the proposal meets the goals of the aesthetic overlay by providing a quality design that uses the existing features of the site and creates visually attractive areas for both the users and the public, among other criteria.
The Commission approved the request for an aesthetic review on a vote of 5-0 with two members absent.
Echo Suites Extended Stay, Chandler
Sandpiper, LLC is proposing an Echo Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham at the SWC of Cooper Road and Loop 202 in the Chandler Airport Center.
According to the staff summary presented to the Chandler Planning and Zoning Commission before its April 17 meeting, “The proposed four-story hotel will be approximately 53,600 square feet on approximately 2.54 acres and features 124 guest rooms with a lounge, fitness room and laundry area on the first floor. There is a covered outdoor seating area with raised planters and an adjacent activity lawn near the main entrance which complements the porte-cochère covered entry at the front. The main entrance to the site is from Cooper Road, with drive aisles and parking provided at all sides of the building. A covered canopy / porte-cochère is prominently featured at the main entrance facing toward Cooper Road. The proposed development exceeds the parking requirements.”
In outlining the plan’s benefits to the community, the materials put particular emphasis on the extent to which the new hotel would contribute to the growing area in and around the Airport Center. “We are confident our hotel will assist Chandler’s economic prosperity primarily by contributing to business retention, expansion, and attraction,” the development materials said. “Our customers contribute as they are generally working in the area or vacationing. Further, we will contribute by enhancing the property value and the real estate tax base, as well as through sales and occupancy taxes. We anticipate a significant portion of our guest mix to originate from the corporate training, travel, medical, real estate, and construction industries, which we believe will help facilitate new business growth and encourage development in the future. Our Echo hotel will become an important part of the infrastructure of a growing community like Chandler.”
The Commission voted to recommend the project for approval.
According to the DATABEX project database, there are currently two other hotel developments listed as Under Construction in Chandler. Eight hotels have been completed in the city since DATABEX launched in 2016.
Arizona/U.S. Hotel Development Snapshot
DATABEX currently lists 22 freestanding hotel projects as Under Construction around the state. Only one of those is attached to a major resort development. The rest, while varying in degree of luxury for the target clientele, are primarily mid-sized and freestanding developments. The database has construction valuation estimates for 20 of those 21 developments, with an overall estimated price tag totaling more than $289.1M.
DATABEX also has overall square footage for 20 of the 21 projects. In total, Under Construction hotel development outside the resort and master plan subgroups currently totals 1.35MSF.
There are dozens more projects in the earlier phases of the pipeline and getting ready to move forward. As of April 29, DATABEX shows 36 projects in various phases of Design and Design/Plan Review totaling more than $1.62B for the 34 projects with available construction cost valuations.
Another 15 are shown as Pending Procurements/In Negotiations for a total of $253.5M. There are 16 projects that are not part of major resort developments listed as either in Pre-construction or as Pre-construction/Phase Complete with total construction valuations of more than $266M.
Arizona’s 88 projects in the six major pipeline status categories follow a solid nationwide trend. Industry development publication HotelDive reported in January that the U.S. hotel construction pipeline was at an all-time high, surpassing its previous high from 2008. According to HotelDive, the total national hotel construction pipeline reached 5,964 projects in Q4 2023.
Most of those, however, were conversions and renovations, which made up 2,028 of the total. Q4 projects under construction were listed at 1,118, an 11% increase year-over-year. Another 2,259 were expected to start in 2024, up 9% year-over-year, and projects in early planning totaled 2,587, another 9% year-over-year increase.
