OGDEN -- By a 6-1 vote Tuesday night, the Ogden City Council approved a development agreement with a Taylorsville company to construct a $13 million Hilton Garden Inn Hotel downtown.
City Councilwoman Amy Wicks voted against the agreement with Layton developer Kevin Garn and Western States Lodging for the hotel that may be built at 2275 Washington Blvd. The agreement sets the stage for the hotel to possibly begin construction by June 2011, with completion by October 2012.
During a public hearing Tuesday night, operators of several local hotels expressed objections to the project saying it is unfair to their businesses.
Susan Cross, an official with Comfort Suites, said room occupancy rates in Ogden are already down, adding that a new hotel would adversely affect existing inns.
However, Mayor Matthew Godfrey countered that Western States Lodging has done a feasibility study showing that a downtown hotel would be successful. Hotel developers often choose to build during economic recessions because it's cheaper, he said.
The hotel will have about 120 rooms as well as an underground parking garage that would be owned by the city.
The four-story hotel will be on about an acre at the northwest corner of 23rd Street and Washington Boulevard that will be purchased from the RDA for about $1.5 million, Tom Christopulos, the city's business development manager, has said.
Western States Lodging has constructed numerous hotels in Utah, including the Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center and Towne Place Suites, both in Layton, and Spring Hill Suites in Logan. The company is also building the Home2 Suites for Hilton in Layton.
This topic is being discussed at The Weber County Forum.
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