Exit 179 hotels progress

MOSES LAKE — Developers behind two hotel projects close to one another each say their respective projects are proceeding on schedule.

Mark Wendt is a Portland, Ore.-based investor with Moses Lake Investors, LLC. The corporation is working on a Comfort Suites with franchising company Choice Hotels International, located at 1700 Kittelson Road N.E.

Wendt said the corporation plans to open the hotel the first part of July.

At present, the hotel offers 60 rooms, Wendt said, although there are future plans to expand on the site as necessary.

Wendt described the project as a typical limited-service hotel, with employment opportunities including management through housekeeping. The hotel plans to primarily hire from the Moses Lake area, Wendt added, although he was not certain how many people would be needed.

Wendt said the group of investors also has other hotels in the region, including Yakima and Othello.

"It was a convenient location and also looked like a good opportunity," he said.

Not too far away, at 1735 Kittelson Road, the Molitors, a longtime Moses Lake family who already own Holiday Inn Express and the Inn at Moses Lake, are working on their Holiday Inn Express and Suites.

Mitch Molitor said his family's project is also on schedule to open in June. Sheetrock work has begun on the 80-room hotel, he said, estimating the hotel would employ 18 to 20 people.

"We have the other (Holiday Inn Express), so this is just the best utilization of the property," he said.

Moses Lake-based contractor Desert Development is working on the Comfort Suites, while Molitor's Molitor Construction, LLC is working on the Holiday Inn Express and Suites, owned by his family's Moses Lake Travel Plaza.

"We're really excited about it," Molitor said. "Bringing it in and bringing in a new product to the market. Since we have the other two hotels, it just works really well for the product and for our family. We're very excited about adding something else and taking care of the guests who come to Moses Lake."

Molitor said his family saw the amount of growth going into Moses Lake and the surrounding area.

"We see the need, with all REC is putting into Moses Lake, with ethanol, with some of these other issues we see coming to Moses Lake, and we want to help Moses Lake grow," he said. "And to help Moses Lake grow, hospitality certainly makes sense."

Molitor and Wendt say having one hotel coming in so close to another can be a positive.

"It depends on the operator," Wendt said. "If it's a savvy operator, it can be a plus. The positive part of it can be it creates a synergy in the local area as being the place to stay."

Molitor agreed, reiterating Wendt's sentiment about synergy, and the new hotel joins a longtime effort by his family to accentuate the part of town.

"It just is," he said. "You can look at it as a negative, because you can say there's more supply. We have put a lot of our effort onto Exit 179. We've worked very hard to get this exit to be the main (exit)."

"We're excited about bringing a quality franchise to the area," Wendt said. "Moses Lake has had some, but limited, exposure to first-rate establishments. We're excited about bringing more of that to the area."

"It's fun to see growth in Moses Lake, and we like to be a part of the growth," Molitor said.