Wright Hotels owns the hotel property. WestCoast Hospitality owns the Red Lion brand. After taking down the Holiday Inn sign at the end of the month and completing a remodel this summer, Wright Hotels will raise the Red Lion flag and begin seeking entitlements to expand the hotel by at least 200 rooms on adjoining property it already owns.

"Wright Hotels has looked at the expansion and there does seem to be room, but it is fairly early in the planning stage," a spokesman for WestCoast Hospitality tells GlobeSt.com. A source at Wright Hotels was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday on the cost of the remodel and the proposed expansion. In a prepared statement, Wright President Stuart Rolfe said he chose WestCoast because it brings "attributes of considerable size, yet is still small enough that the attention of top management is there and available through our multi-phase development effort."

Timing on the phases of expansion is still unknown, as are the total number of rooms that could eventually be added. The project is the first venture between WestCoast and Wright Hotels.

Adjacent to the Wright Hotels property is an aging former Best Western that Wright Hotels operates for the City of Portland under a three-year contract. The PDC paid Gene Ferryman $5.2 million last year for the run-down hotel in part because the land, if combined with other adjacent parcels over the next three years, could eventually be razed and used for development of a true convention center hotel, one in excess of 500 rooms.

According to a city-funded report by the Strategic Advisory Group LLC that was released this spring, the ideal situation would be for the city to acquire more adjacent property and put out an RFP for a true convention center hotel and parking garage that was connected to the convention center by a pedestrian bridge.

Instant Insights /

WestCoast Hospitality, Wright Hotels Announce Plans to Expand Hotel

Related Stories

Recommended For You