Hammons Hotels starts Utah project after delay

The Springfield-based developer was scheduled to begin work last August on its first property in Utah, an Embassy Suites Hotel in Pleasant Grove. The company learned, however, that the property is rated as seismically active – on the same level as San Francisco, according to Hammons Hotels Senior Vice President of Development Scott Tarwater.

“We had to go back and reengineer the structure, and it takes quite a bit of time … to get all of the governmental approvals to build a high-rise facility,” he said. “We had not counted on that, but it’s just one of those things you run into.”

Construction is now under way, and the original spring 2009 opening has been pushed to fall 2009. Springfield firm The Killian Group is the general contractor for the nine-story, 300-suite hotel and convention center that together feature more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space, according to a news release.

CEO John Q. Hammons says he is impressed by the growth in Utah Valley, where Pleasant Grove is situated, and intends to build two more hotels in the same area within one or two years, the release said. Hammons Hotels recently has focused on the western part of the country, with announcements last year of projects in Colorado and Idaho, in addition to Utah.