PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University has entered into a 99-year lease agreement with an affiliate of Stonebridge Companies of Englewood, Colo., for the construction and operation of a hotel adjacent to the Pullman campus on North Fairway Drive.

 

Under the terms of the agreement, the company will initially lease approximately 3 acres of a 7.5-acre site previously designated for hospitality development by the university to construct and operate a 127-room, Generation 9 Marriot Residence Inn. Preliminary planning has commenced and the hotel is anticipated to open by the fall of 2013.

 

Mel Taylor, WSU executive director for Real Estate & Local Relations, said the agreement provides for an escalating schedule of lease payments to WSU amounting to $50,000 annually by the sixth year of the term. The agreement also provides options that would allow the company to acquire and further develop the balance of the full 7.5 acre site during the first ten years of the lease term, he said.

 

"We view this agreement as a very positive for the university,” Taylor said. "Stonebridge Companies is a proven hospitality industry developer that has existing franchise relationships with some 13 of the largest hotel brands in the nation. And we think a Marriott Residence Inn is particularly well-suited to our location, given that we often have visiting scholars and other guests that require lodging for extended periods.”