Hotel plans move ahead.

Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

After nearly three years of fits and starts, Al and Tina Patel's 66-unit Comfort Suites hotel at the Glenwood exit off Interstate 5 in east Eugene finally has gotten off the ground.

"All the foundation is there, and the building is started," Tina Patel said Wednesday afternoon. The project should be completed no later than February, Al Patel said, in plenty of time for the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials that will open at Hayward Field on June 27.

Prospects didn't always look so bright. The Patels filed preliminary plans for the hotel with the city of Eugene early in 2005, hoping to break ground by June the same year, but delays set in almost immediately.

Officials from the Oregon Department of Transportation and the city were still working on designs for safe access from the property to the increasingly busy freeway interchange. (That project was completed just a few weeks ago.)

The alignment of two new street sections also had to be settled before construction could begin. The Patels have to put in a 600-foot extension of East 25th Avenue, between Laurel Hill Drive and another new street, Brackenfern Road, which serves the adjacent 83-acre East Ridge Village housing development.

Work on both streets is under way now, Al Patel said, with completion projected for November.

Rooms in the new hotel all will be one-bedroom suites, Patel said. Each will include two beds, a living area and a kitchenette with refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker.

Although Comfort Suites must approve the decor, "we are looking for a modern look," Tina Patel said. The hotel should appeal to business travelers, people visiting nearby University of Oregon and tourists, she said.

Eventually, the Patels hope to build a full-service restaurant adjacent to the hotel on the 2.3-acre property, she said. Guests at the hotel will be served breakfast.

The total cost of the hotel project will be in the range of $5-7 million, Al Patel said. EA White Construction Co. is the general contractor, with design work by Glas Architectural Group.

Although the Laurel Hill Valley Association neighborhood group did not object to the concept of the hotel project, it did appeal planning department approval because of concerns about lighting and signage. In response, a Eugene hearings official added requirements for additional landscaping to shield nearby residences from the hotel.

Besides the new Comfort Suites hotel, the Patels also own the University Inn & Suites on Franklin Boulevard in Eugene, and other facilities in Portland and Battle Ground, Wash.

Choice Hotels International, parent of Comfort Suites, also owns or franchises lodgings under the names Comfort Inn, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, Main Stay Suites, Econo Lodge and Rodeway.