Extended Stay America Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company that operates more than 190 extended-stay hotels nationwide, says it plans to build a 115-unit hotel in the Spokane Valley.


Mariesa Capelli, a spokeswoman in Fort Lauderdale for Extended Stay America, says the company has hired Inland Construction Co., of Spokane, to build the planned hotel on a vacant, two-acre parcel of land the Florida company bought recently at 12803 E. Sprague. The site is on the north side of Sprague a few blocks east of Pines Road.


Work on the three-story, 51,000-square-foot hotel, which is expected to cost between $4 million and $5 million to construct, is set to begin this month and to be completed by September.


Extended Stay America also will own and operate the hotel, which is to be called Crossland Economy Studios.


The specialty hotel will face Sprague, but will be separated from the busy thoroughfare by a second, 39,000-square-foot parcel thats being marketed separately by a different owner, says Sheldon Jackson, a real estate agent with SDS Realty Inc., the Spokane company thats marketing the second piece of property. He says that access to the hotel from Sprague will be available through the east side of that property, which probably will be the site of a restaurant.


Extended Stay America develops, owns, and manages extended-stay hotels under the Crossland Economy Studios, StudioPlus, and Extended StayAmerica Efficiency Studios names. Capelli says that guest rooms in those facilities are designed to appeal to customers whose stays typically exceed one week, though guests also can stay for as short of time as one night.


A typical room at a Crossland Economy Studios facility includes about 225 square feet of floor space and has a living room and sleeping area; a kitchenette with a microwave, stove, coffee maker, refrigerator, and cooking utensils; and a bathroom. Some rooms will offer larger beds, recliners, sleeper sofas, desks, or a dishwasher, for a higher room rate. The hotel is expected to charge between $160 and $200 a week for a room.


Extended Stay America will hire three full-time and about five part-time employees to operate the hotel. Capelli says the company doesnt need a lot of employees because it doesnt operate restaurants or lounges, nor does it provide daily room service or 24-hour front-office help. Rooms are cleaned on a weekly basis or when a guest moves out, unless a guest asks to have them cleaned more often, she says.


Marshall Clark, of Clark Commercial Real Estate Co., of Spokane, represented Sam Yen, of Spokane, in the sale of the site to Extended Stay America. Freiheit & Ho PS, of Bellevue, is the architect on the project.


Through the third quarter of 1997, Extended Stay America posted revenues of $38.8 million.