2 more hotels planned for Nampa’s Gateway Center area, just off Interstate 84

A Washington state developer has taken the first steps to develop a pair of hotels that would bring 138 rooms to Nampa’s Gateway Center area.

Evergreen Hospitality Management of Battle Ground plans to construct an 81-room Candlewood Suites in the next year and a 57-room La Quinta Inn & Suites a year or two later. Both hotels are planned to be four stories high and would be next to each other on a lot on East Commerce Street and East Exchange Way.

“Nearby land uses including the Idaho Center, Saint Alphonsus and the College of Western Idaho will likely benefit from additional hotel rooms in the vicinity,” Nampa planner Karla Nelson wrote in a memo to the Nampa Planning and Zoning Commission.

The site is located north of the former Macy’s store and south of Interstate 84, across the freeway from the Idaho Center Auto Mall.

The project was first reported by the Idaho Press-Tribune.

On Monday, the Nampa City Council approved a request to split the 2.6-acre site in two, so that each hotel is located on a separate piece of property.

The site already contains access to water, sewer, electrical and storm drain services. Curbs and sidewalks, along with two access points for vehicles, were installed in 2008 as part of improvements for the Gateway Center.

The site will provide room for 84 parking spaces. That will be adequate for the Candlewood hotel. Developers will be required to provide additional spaces when the La Quinta hotel is built.

The hotels are among several new Nampa hotels that have opened recently or are in the planning and building stages.

The Peppertree Nampa Civic Center Inn, with 82 rooms, opened in May at 205 3rd St. S. The following month, an 85-room Holiday Inn opened near the Karcher Road exit of I-84, at 16245 N. Merchant Way.

A groundbreaking was held Tuesday for a Home2 Suites by Hilton, an extended stay hotel at 5150 E. Franklin Road, near the Ford Idaho Center. It’s expected to have about 90 rooms.

This story was originally published September 21, 2017 at 3:00 PM with the headline "2 more hotels planned for Nampa’s Gateway Center area, just off Interstate 84."