New hotel is long time coming

On July 4, 1887, the first Maricopa & Phoenix train left Maricopa, packed with enthusiastic passengers headed north into the Salt River Valley.

This maiden journey marked the beginning of Maricopa’s golden era as a railroad junction, and throughout the next 50-plus years thousands of passengers would pour into Maricopa looking for a place to rest their weary bones for the night.

Two hotels on opposite sides of the tracks, the Hotel Williams and the Edwards House, competed for that business. One hotel proprietor had a wildlife display that included a wildcat on a chain to entertain patrons, as well as an impressive collection of Indian baskets. Another proprietor set up honeymoon rooms in his hotel.

Sadly, both properties were lost to fire decades ago, leaving Maricopa without a hotel for the next 56 years. That drought is about to be broken in the form of an 80-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites, which is slated to be built on the vacant 6-acre tract of land on the east side of John Wayne Parkway just south of Maricopa Self Storage.

“We just got the franchise approval and are excited to get this project underway,” said Larry Miller of Matrixx Management, one of the developers behind the project. The announcement concerning the new hotel was made by Mayor Anthony Smith at the annual State of the City address on Feb. 9.

Miller, who helped develop several of the subdivisions south of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and is the founder of Maricopa Broadband, said the three-story hotel has been in the works for several months and expects to break ground on the project within 90 days.

“There is a huge need in this community for a hotel with all of the employees at the two test tracks, out-of-town visitors and others,” Miller said. In addition, Miller said the hotel will have an onsite restaurant in the form of a Denny’s, International House of Pancakes or a Marie Callender’s, a swimming pool and fitness center, as well as a 35,000-square-foot conference area. Miller added he is in negotiations to bring a Starbucks location to the site.

Currently Miller is working through both Arizona Department of Transportation requirements and the city to fast-track the project.

“The city has been very helpful in the process,” said Miller’s associate, Navin Kuber. “It is always nice to work with a city that thinks proactively.” Kuber said the group is looking at an expected opening date around November 2010.

“We should be able to build this thing in six months, no problem,” Kuber said. “In the past we have built slightly smaller structures in four months.”

No timeline is yet set for the restaurant. In addition to the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Miller hopes to add a similar-sized Best Western property next door.

For many Maricopa residents, getting a hotel in town is just what the doctor ordered. “My husband Shawn and I are thrilled about the new hotel and very excited about all of the new construction in Maricopa,” said Glennwilde resident Morgan Vanderwall. “We have lived here four and a half years, and with our entire family living out of state, this is a great feature to add to this town. The hotel will also be fabulous for holidays where both sides (of the family) would like to visit, and I think a great step up for our city.”

For Rancho El Dorado resident Melanie Thompson, the impact of the new Holiday Inn Express & Suites is more than just a financial boost to Maricopa; it is also a morale boost for residents.

“The economy has been especially harsh to Maricopa’s families and businesses, and it is uplifting news to hear that a developer and a higher end hotel chain believe Maricopa has something to offer; something we have known all along,” Thompson said. “For us, this news feels like a signal that things are improving and Maricopa’s situation may just turn around sooner than what has been predicted.”

Thompson, who is a stay-at-home mom, feels the hotel opens a new chapter for tourism in Maricopa as well. “Many of us have relatives that come to visit us in sunny Maricopa and have had to inconveniently stay in a hotel along the I-10 in Chandler, leaving their dollars behind instead of at our stores, restaurants and, of course, our fuel stations,” Thompson said. “The hotel will change all of that and, hopefully, extend further. An example that immediately comes to mind is out-of-state travelers from California on their way to Sedona or Flagstaff. Maricopa may turn out to be a great midway stop-over. We will have to wait and see how far reaching the impact will be.”

While the hotel project will be a boon for Maricopa residents, the city will also benefit from its construction.

“We are committed to holding up our end of the bargain on this deal and working closely with the Arizona Department of Transportation and the developers to help make this hotel a reality,” said Danielle Casey, the city’s economic development manager.

While the hotel is still in the initial phases, she added that the developer made a significant financial investment in acquiring the franchise. A hotel would create revenue for the city in the form of 2 percent sales tax and a 2 percent bed tax. Assuming an average nightly occupancy of 60 rooms at a rate of $100 per night, that could translate into nearly $90,000 in revenue for the city.

However, when property taxes, wages to employees and other factors are weighed, Casey said the financial windfall for the city could approach $2.3 million during a five-year timeframe. Not all the impacts are financial though, Casey said.

“When companies look at Maricopa as a possible place to locate a business, a hotel is one of the things they are looking for,” Casey said. “These business people do not like to have to stay out of town and drive into the city. And if they build here, they would like to be able to have a place near their company for potential partners to stay when they come into town also.”

(A version of this story appeared in the March issue of InMaricopa News.)

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