Casa Grande P&Z Approves New Holiday Inn

By Tasha Anderson for AZBEX 
Despite a recent sharp decline in Arizona hotel occupancy and temporary closures due to COVID-19, plans for a new Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center are making their way through the City of Casa Grande. 
Casa Grande’s Planning and Zoning Commission recently approved a request for a Planned Area Development amendment to allow hotel and convention center uses on a 4.65-acre site at 238 N. Camino Mercado, within the Casa Grande Crossings PAD. A major site plan/final development plan for the project was also approved. 
According to the project documents, the full 17-acre site is known as “Parcel 10” and was split into two parcels several years ago. The hotel is being proposed for the smaller portion of Parcel 10 also known as 10-A. “The larger portion of Parcel 10 [10-B] is the intervening lot between the developing parcel and Camino Mercado,” the documents state. “An access drive will extend through this parcel to provide access to the hotel parcel.” 
The Holiday Inn development is planned as a four-story, 116-room full-service hotel with a 6KSF conference building designed to hold 440 seats. The development will total approximately 86KSF with a maximum building height of about 55 feet. 
“This development provides an opportunity to attract visitors at its prominent location paralleling Interstate 10 south of Florence Boulevard,” according to the documents. 
Amenities will include a pool area, landscaping around the hotel and a large open outdoor gathering space at the south side of the hotel to support the conference center. A total of 254 parking spaces will also be provided for both hotel and conference center guests. 
A sidewalk will be provided to the east of the property with a gate to be added to the eastern wall. According to the plans, the gate will provide access to the future Casa Grande Linear Park I-10 segment, which will “offer an ideal recreation amenity and connectivity alternatives to guests of the hotel.” 
According to the project owner, Piyushkumar Patel, in a phone call to BEX researchers, the project is still moving forward, and he plans to start construction toward the end of Q4 2020. The project still needs approval from Casa Grande’s City Council and a general contractor has not yet been selected.