New Best Western in the works

By Rolf Boone | The Olympian • Published August 20, 2008

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LACEY – Thurston County could get a second Best Western hotel, according to a development proposal submitted this month to Lacey's Community Development Department.

Sang Jae and Keum Woo of Olympia propose building a 51,800-square-foot hotel with 85 rooms at 8316 Quinault Drive N.E. in Hawks Prairie.

The 1.48-acre development site is between Quinault Drive and the Hawks Prairie Casino, Lacey Associate Planner Ryan Andrews said.

Jae and Woo pitched theirplan to the city last fall, he added.

Jae and Woo could not immediately be reached to comment, but Marie Yarroll, a spokeswoman for Best Western International in Phoenix, said the company's board of directors has awarded conditional approval for a hotel in Lacey.

Thurston County assessor records show that Jae and Woo purchased the site from the Hawks Prairie Inn Corp. for $1.67 million in January.

Best Western has more than 4,000 hotels worldwide and nearly 60 in Washington, including a 90-room hotel in Tumwater that opened in 1993, hotel manager Rick Zabroski said.

Zabroski said having a second Best Western in Thurston County would be an added challenge for the Tumwater hotel.

"Even though it's nine miles up the freeway, they will be direct competition," he said.

Zabroski added that although this typically is the busy season for hotels, the Tumwater hotel is "feeling the crunch" from the slower economy.

Downtown Olympia used to have a Best Western, but it changed brands and became a Clarion Hotel in 2006, he said.

Lacey's recent growth has been a magnet for hotel chains, such as:

• Candlewood Suites, a 60-room extended-stay hotel at 4440 Third Ave S.E., Lacey.

• Holiday Inn Express, an 80-room hotel at 4460 Third Ave. S.E., Lacey

Also, a 107-room Marriott Fairfield Inn has been proposed for Hawks Prairie, north of Interstate 5.

The Candlewood Suites and Holiday Inn opened last year, and Associate Planner Andrews said the Marriott proposal has received site plan review approval from the city, but the developers, Hall Equities Group of Walnut Creek, Calif., have not sought building permits for the project.

Rolf Boone covers business for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5403 or rboone@theolympian.com.