CSM building two-hotel project in Overlake

Published 9:46 am Friday, September 26, 2014

The City of Redmond is working to develop two urban centers in town — one in downtown and one in Overlake.

As part of the latter’s development, a two-hotel project is in the works for Overlake Village.

CSM is the real estate development company in charge of the project. The company specializes in three areas: commercial real estate, residential real estate and lodging.

Kate Burda, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing, said the first two areas of the company are more focused in the Midwest, but their 39 current lodging groups — with more than 5,500 rooms — are located throughout the country.

She said one of the reasons they are developing hotels in Redmond is because the area has a strong market from a corporate standpoint. With the addition of Bellevue next door, she described the area as an economic powerhouse.

“We were really excited about the market,” Burda said.

That excitement goes both ways.

“I am excited about these two new hotels,” said Redmond Mayor John Marchione. “They fit in well with the innovative and high tech nature of Overlake Village.”

Burda said the land CSM bought is zoned for two hotels, so it makes sense for them to build two complementary hotels, which the company has done before.

“We’re not novices at it,” she said about the two-hotel concept.

While CSM is not new to the two-hotel concept, Burda said this will be the first time they are developing such a project in the Puget Sound area. Some of the cities where the company has built two-hotel projects include Denver and Minneapolis.

Burda said by having two hotels on the same piece of land, they are able to offer travelers lodging options to fit their needs, whether they are in town for a quick work meeting, working on a project or staying long term.

Marchione added, “Modern collaboration still relies on personal interaction. These hotels provide temporary housing for engineers and product developers from around the world to travel to Redmond and work with our businesses.”

One of the company’s hotel pairings in other areas has been a Residence Inn alongside a Courtyard Marriott, but Burda said they are not sure what will be going up in Overlake yet.

The two hotels will have about 280 rooms total — with one hotel having about 150 and the other, roughly 130 rooms.

Scott Peterson, director of development for CSM, said they will go before the city’s Design Review Board in November and they hope to secure a grading permit around the first of next year.

He said their goal is to have the hotels open by the summer of 2016.