Gilroy’s City Council approved the largest hotel project in the
city’s history Monday evening, making way for a new Candlewood
Suites Extended Stay Hotel and Holiday Inn.
Gilroy’s City Council approved the largest hotel project in the city’s history Monday evening, making way for a new Candlewood Suites Extended Stay Hotel and Holiday Inn.
The project, to be developed by The Fresh Group – a Los Angeles-based group of Chinese investors – includes two four-story hotels, a fast-food joint, a sit-down restaurant and a four-level parking garage at Forest Street and Leavesley Road. Project officials estimate it will create more than 80 local jobs and will generate more than $600,000 in transient occupancy tax for the city each year.
The council approved the project after first granting project manager James Suner a request to eliminate a requirement to underground all utility poles along the frontage and to build or move any utility boxes so that they do not encroach onto the sidewalk. Suner said that requirement would have entailed undergrounding close to 900 feet of power lines from one power pole to off-site locations.
Meanwhile, Suner agreed to improve the look of the Candlewood Suites Extended Stay Hotel, which Councilwoman Cat Tucker described as “boxy,” and promised to work with city staff on the project’s color palate and design features. The council decided to take another look at those architectural improvements at a later date.
