Inter-Mountain Management Inc., a Monroe, La.-based hotel franchisee, has agreed to buy just over two acres of land near the Spokane Valley Mall and plans to build a three-story, 84-suite Residence Inn by Marriott there.


Dewey Weaver, Monroe-based president of Inter-Mountain Management, says the company expects to complete the land purchase after Spokane County approves a plat the Louisiana concern has submitted for the proposed development site. Inter-Mountain Management hopes to break ground on the new hotel in September. If that happens on schedule, the hotel would open late next summer, Weaver says.


The new Residence Inn is to be built along the north side of Indiana Avenue and near the south bank of the Spokane River, east of Sullivan Road and the Spokane Valley Mall. Construction of another hotel, a four-story, 127-unit Oxford Suites hotel, is well under way near the Spokane River on the other side of Sullivan, closer to the mall.


The Residence Inn is expected to include a total of about 52,000 square feet of floor space, and its estimated it will cost about $3.5 million to construct, says Bob Bennie, a project manager for Vandervert Construction Inc., of Spokane, which has been selected as the general contractor for the project.


Weaver says every unit in the hotel will be a suite, with a full kitchen and living room in addition to a bedroom and bathroom.


Common areas in the hotels are expected to include an indoor swimming pool, a fitness room, and a sports court. Weaver says the company also expects to build a patio area and is considering including a small garden area.


The hotel would be the first Residence Inn built in the Spokane area and one of Inter-Mountain Managements first two hotels in Washington state. The company hopes to start work soon on its planned other hotel in the state, a Courtyard by Marriott, in Seattle. The company doesnt have immediate plans to develop more hotels in the Spokane area.


Different franchisees operate the two other Marriott-brand hotels in the Spokane areaa Fairfield Inn and a Courtyard by Marriott, both near downtown.


Inter-Mountain Management owns and operates nine hotels and currently is constructing seven others. The companys properties are located in Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nevada.