Just south of Anaheim, down Harbor Boulevard from the Disneyland Resort and theme parks, Downtown Disney retail/entertainment center and the new Grand Californian Hotel, Garden Grove has been busy attracting hotel development for the past few years. At present, eight hotels totaling 2,500 rooms are already in the area. If these two are built, it would add another 500 rooms to the mix. Community development director Matthew Fertal says the city is hoping that Stonebridge-McWhinney will apply for and be granted the rights to build two Marriott properties.

"There's no question that Marriott, in everyone's opinion in the travel industry, is the number one franchise choice," says industry analyst Alan X. Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group in Costa Mesa. "Garden Grove has been very proactive in getting hotels developed in the city, and I commend them for that. They've been very savvy. The city of Anaheim has poured a lot of money into rejuvenating the area around Disneyland, anticipating more hotels than actually broke ground. Garden Grove has capitalized on the expansion of the convention center and Disney's growth."

If Marriott gives the go-ahead, Reay believes the properties will most likely be a Springhill Inns and a Courtyard by Marriott because they would not be competing with their own brand locally. Still, the economics of the situation will call for builder incentives, something that the Garden Grove Redevelopment Agency has been very forthcoming with to attract builders to the city.

"It's a typical redevelopment project in that we don't own the property," Fertal says. "We have to look at acquiring the property from other parties, which is always controversial. Most of the environmental issues have already been covered. There may need to be some special studies done as to traffic and parking, but I'm not expecting much more in the environmental impact area."

The city's electorate defeated a measure that would have increased the bed tax the city could charge, so building more rooms is a good vehicle for increasing revenue. Bordering Anaheim to the south and in close proximity to the Disneyland Resort, Fertal believes tourists won't even know they are in another city.

"We're the only ones building [a lot of] brand new hotels, so it's a very likely and logical place for people to stay. We're making improvements to the streets, the landscaping and widening the sidewalks to make it feel more like a resort area while they're here," he says.

Garden Grove is also getting a much-needed head start on larger ventures like the Pointe Anaheim retail/entertainment project, which promises to build three hotels close to Disneyland. Due to problems assembling the necessary land parcels and getting needed financing, the project hasn't broken ground yet.

If approved by the City Council and the go-ahead is given by Marriott, Fertal believes the developer could begin construction in earnest nine to 12 months later, with completion 12 months after that.

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