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Publication Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Hyatt hotel rumors persist over Sand Hill Road site
Hyatt hotel rumors persist over Sand Hill Road site
(February 11, 2004) By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer
Rumors have been swirling around that Hyatt Hotels is interested in building a large hotel at Sand Hill Road and Interstate 280 in Menlo Park. In light of the city's gloomy financial situation, it's easy to see how the thought could be tempting to officials.
While City Manager David Boesch said he has not spoken to anyone from Hyatt, he added that he'd certainly be happy to do so. Menlo Park already takes in about a million dollars annually in transient occupancy tax from its existing hotels.
"It's got great views, looking out over 280 to the foothills and the mountains," Mr. Boesch said of the 21-acre plot, which is owned by Stanford University. "A site like that would probably command a four-star hotel ... and higher room rates."
The tax is charged to the customer and is 10 percent of the room rate, Mr. Boesch said. Unlike sales tax, which is carved up among state, county and city governments, the hotel tax goes right to the city.
At this point, Hyatt representative Mark Solit has said he is interested in meeting with Stanford officials about the Sand Hill property, but the company is still tangled in a long-standing plan to build a 320-room hotel and 302 housing units on the Palo Alto site of its old Hyatt Rickey's hotel. That proposal met with strong community opposition when neighbors worried about traffic impacts from the housing units.
Some residents have said they're suspicious that the rumors about moving the hotel to Menlo Park are just a ploy by Hyatt to win swift approval from the city of Palo Alto. If the Hyatt goes to Menlo Park, Palo Alto could lose between $1 million and $1.4 million annually in transient occupancy tax.
The Sand Hill site was eyed by Westin Hotels and Resorts in the 1980s, but the project didn't come to pass.
Don Kazak of the Palo Alto Weekly, the Almanac's sister paper, contributed to this report.
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