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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend June 28, 2005 A 100-unit Homestead Suites by Hilton hotel will change the landscape northwest of the Rogue Valley Manor�s Quail Point Golf Course. The hotel will face Ellendale Avenue, which parallels the power lines seen in this photograph. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Manor to build a Hilton hotel near Quail Point The four-story, 100-room all-suite hotel will cost $8 million, says Pacific Retirement Systems By GREG STILES Mail Tribune There’s another tower in Pacific Retirement System Inc.’s future. The Rogue Valley Manor’s parent company said Monday it has been awarded a "Homewood Suites by Hilton" franchise by Hilton Hotels Corp. The extended-stay, residential-style hotel will be built on Ellendale Drive, adjacent to the Quail Point Golf Course. Unlike the imposing Manor and Skyline Plaza edifices atop Barneburg Hill, the hotel won’t dominate the southeast skyline. The approximately $8 million, four-story, 100-room, all-suite hotel is part of an already approved 1998 master plan by PRS to construct several commercial projects near the new south Medford freeway interchange. "When we put it on the master plan in 1998, we knew we wanted some kind of hotel to go with our new golf course," said Brian McLemore, PRS executive vice president of development and marketing. "We had an independent market study of the hotels coming and that led us to an extended-stay hotel. There really isn’t an extended stay product in Southern Oregon." The extended stay model — typically three to 10 days — meshes well with the Rogue Valley Manor’s burgeoning population, putting family visitors within three or four blocks of the main campus. It is also positioned well to serve short-term contractors and out-of-town executives at Bear Creek Corp., Asante and PRS. Advertisement "We looked at it from the standpoint that the bigger employers are located in the south end of town," McLemore said. "All of those things led to the Homewood Suites concept." Commercial development of the property has not come without controversy, as residents of the Crest Imperial Mobile Estates mobile home park must give up their homes to make way for the changes. PRS told residents of the low-income mobile home park that it will close in December. McLemore and attorney Rob Patridge submitted the PRS proposal to Hilton in early spring and got the go-ahead this past week. "We hope to break ground by the end of the year," McLemore said. "But we still have to get our site plan approved and go through architectural review." The hotel will extend north to south, with suites facing east and west. PRS has hired Intermountain Management Co. of West Monroe, La., (with offices in Seattle and Denver) to handle day-to-day hotel operations. Intermountain Management presently manages more than 35 hotel properties. "We’ve decided not to do something that’s not our forte, even though there are similarities," said McLemore, adding that Intermountain will set prices later on. "We’re better served to bring in a professional group to get things up and running. Sometime down the road we may look at it again." Down the road, perhaps within two years and almost certainly within the next decade, PRS will seek another Hilton franchise — a Hilton Garden Inn. "What they approved in the master plan was 150 suites," McLemore said. "We’re actually building something smaller than originally anticipated. Looking at the market, 150 suites were too big." The $8 million price tag could grow as well, McLemore said: "We’re working on whole city blocks in Seattle right now where the construction budget is $80 million. When costs go up 2 or 3 percent, that’s a big deal. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement