GRAND HAVEN, MI - The plan for a hotel set to be constructed in downtown Grand Haven received final approval from city leaders this month.
The 128-room, five-story Residence Inn by Marriott is planned for the city's central downtown area at 233 Washington Ave., within walking distance of a variety of local shops and restaurants, as well as the waterfront.
On Aug. 12, the Grand Haven Planning Commission approved the final development plan for the hotel.
"The city is super excited to partner with (6PM Hospitality) and move forward and have an anchor on that east end of downtown," said City Planner Brian Urquhart.
The site is next door to the Jumpin' Java coffee shop and is currently housing several office spaces.
"An office building is one thing, but a 128-room hotel is going to create a lot more activity," Urquhart said.
Officials say the hotel would likely open by 2027 and is expected to bring in visitors who will spend $18 million annually in the local economy.
There is intentionally no bar or restaurant planned for inside the hotel to encourage visitors to explore options nearby.
The final plan was "largely very much the same" as the preliminary plan that was approved by city council in June, along with a zoning change, Urquhart said.
Perhaps the biggest change was an agreement with Ottawa County for hotel guests to use their parking lot south of Franklin Ave.
The parking lot contains over 60 spaces, satisfying the demand for at least an additional 39 spaces.
In recent meetings on the topic, residents expressed their concerns for a potential strain on parking.
The plan includes 89 on-site parking spots for its 128 rooms.
The developer has stated they don't think they would be fully booked except for a couple of the city's busiest weeks of the year, during the Coast Guard Festival.
Other changes in the final plan were that the exterior of the upper-level stories will be made with brick, rather than face brick. The main level will have masonry block.
There will be landscape planter boxes along Third St. "to break up the continuous wall," according to city records.
City leaders also emphasized that the Sherwood Forest, a greenspace and seating area in between the hotel and Jumpin' Java, would remain public and accessible.
Demolition is expected to start this year and construction would continue through next summer, Urquhart said.
The project is expected to take 12 to 15 months, with the hotel to open by mid-2027.
Urquhart said some on-street parking spaces and parts of the sidewalk near the site may be blocked off during construction.
Back in June, Councilmember Mike Fritz noted the city was coming "full circle" by establishing a new hotel at the site where a five-story hotel used to exist in the 1800s before it burned down.
His dream is to see cruise ships dock in the city's port.
"If we had somewhere for them to come and spend a few days, it'd be a great opportunity to make our downtown shine," Fritz said. "I think it's a great opportunity for us to move forward."