You may remember the talk of a hotel being built on the corner of Bendigo and Southfork Ave SW that started in the spring of 2013, around the same time four houses were demolished to make room for Bartell Drugs.
The land was cleared and graded in August of 2014 by the developer in anticipation of two multi-story buildings that would accommodate hotels, restaurants and conference center facilities.
In October 2015, the chain was revealed to be Marriott and the project was to be finished by spring of 2017. However, the project never broke ground and locals were left wondering what was happening on that previously wooded corner.
In 2017 the project was said to be back on track with a new finish date of spring 2019. In March of the next year, there was yet another delay related to WSDOT’s control of its Bendigo Blvd right-of-way, with flood design issues adding kinks to the permitting process. But the hotel’s project manager reported to the city they had selected a site contractor and building construction company.
It seems there was still hope at the beginning of 2019 that the hotel project was moving forward with Marriott. Still, in June of 2020, the project was officially declared dead, with another hotel company eyeing the property.
According to the City of North Bend, there is currently some construction activity at the site of a proposed hotel near downtown North Bend.
This is not the beginning of hotel construction. It is site cleanup only. The City is currently performing code enforcement at the overgrown location where the developer made the initial site improvements in 2014 and then halted work.
The developer of the proposed hotel has delayed the project multiple times over the past years and the project approvals lapsed due to inactivity.
Over the years, the site has become overgrown by invasive and non-native weeds. The City requires property owners to maintain their property. This site has become unsightly and has been the subject of many citizen complaints. That resulted in city code enforcement requiring the developer to clean up the overgrown land parcel.
Currently, it is unclear the exact duration of the cleanup work.
Comments
Did the city consider the effect to the elk herd that frequents the area that a hotel complex would have? There is a brand new hotel in Snoqualmie. Is another really needed?
Too bad they had to cut down the riverside forest that could have remained all this time, shading the river, giving homes to woodland critters.
What ??? I have lived here over 35 years and seen elk all over…but never there !
Did you look there silly?