Washington State University is seeking a developer to design, finance, and build a hotel and conference center at its Pullman campus. It has advertised a request for qualifications for the project and is accepting submittals until Nov. 20.


Ryan Ruffcorn, a WSU project manager, says the university hopes to lease out land on campus to a developer who would build and operate a facility with 80 to 120 hotel rooms and around 10,000 square feet of meeting space. The university wants to have such a facility on campus to attract professional conferences and meetings that typically are held outside the Pullman area and in which WSU faculty members often participate, Ruffcorn says. He says WSU doesnt know yet how much such a facility would cost, but the project would be financed completely by the selected developer.


WSU is considering two possible locations for the hotel, both along North Fairway Road near where the university is developing a new golf course on campus, Ruffcorn says. Both of the sites are more than 10 acres in size. Ruffcorn says the university hopes that the golf course, scheduled to open next August, would make the campus attractive to conferences and meetings that include a recreational component.


He says the universitys suggested size for the facility is based on a feasibility study its Social and Economic Sciences Research Center did in 2002 that surveyed 1,300 faculty members about conferences, meetings, and workshops theyve attended and hosted.


The university, however, wants the developer to conduct its own research to determine how large the facility should be, he says.


The university has more than 23,000 students altogether. Currently, it has more than $235 million in capital projects being designed or under construction, Ruffcorn says.


He says other universities, such as Oregon State University, in Corvallis, Ore., have similar conference centers.


The university would like the hotel and conference center to bring more visitors to Pullman, perhaps also boosting hotel room bookings for the other hotels there, he says.


Ruffcorn says WSU would approve of all plans. The university wants to lease the land long term, but hasnt determined details such as the lease rate or exactly how long the lease would run, he says. Ruffcorn says WSU would like to negotiate a lease with a developer by next September.


Contact Jeanne Gustafson at (509) 344-1264 or via e-mail at jeanneg@spokanejournal.com.