Coeur d'Alene commission OKs Marriott hotel on Northwest Boulevard

COEUR d’ALENE — A proposed four-story, 105-room Marriott hotel near downtown Coeur d’Alene was unanimously approved by the Design Review Commission on Thursday.

Unlike a previous DRC hearing on another Marriott hotel proposed at Sixth and Sherman that was strongly opposed by about 50 people, no one questioned this latest hotel on the 1800 block of Northwest Boulevard.

DRC Chairman Tom Messina said he was not surprised at the lack of public concern, considering the hotel is proposed on commercial property. It’s along Northwest Boulevard, a busy arterial, and many rental units are nearby.

“Maybe that’s why no one showed up,” he said.

Parker Lange, a manager with Providence Development, based in Bozeman, Mont., said they plan to begin construction later this year with hopes to complete it in about 18 months.

It’s the third hotel planned for the downtown area, with a six-story, 131-room Marriott at Sixth Street and Sherman Avenue and Hagadone Corporation’s 15-story, 139-room hotel at First and Sherman also in the works.

According to a city staff report, The Marriott Residence Inn Hotel would include a restaurant and bar, conference and meeting room, fitness area, swimming pool and 107 parking spaces. 

A representative with Richardson Design Partnership, LLC,  based in Salt Lake City, made a presentation on behalf of CDA Hotel II, LLC.

The hotel would take up commercial lots totaling about 2.2 acres at 1808 and 1820 Northwest Blvd. It would be on the east side of Northwest Boulevard, between Emma and Davidson avenues. 

“This was the former site of the Garden Motel that was demolished several years ago after a fire, and was abandoned prior to the fire,” the report reads.

The DRC approved the downtown Marriott hotel in January, but it is tied up under appeal. An April 16 appeal hearing was tabled by the Coeur d’Alene City Council and has yet to be rescheduled.

It would have 130 parking spaces, three stories of underground parking, a fitness center, rooftop bar and outdoor patio.  

At the January meeting, Lange said they wanted to begin work this summer on the two-year project. That could be in question with the appeal hearing still not rescheduled.

Lange on Thursday declined to comment on the status of the downtown Marriott.

He did say developers were confident the local economy can support two Marriott hotels in Coeur d’Alene.

Messina said it was interesting that many people turned out for the January hearing and argued the Marriott didn’t fit with downtown and would change its character.

"Why didn’t they show up for this one?" he said.

The Hagadone Corporation’s Sherman Tower will feature a 6,000-square-foot restaurant with a seasonal rooftop bar, and nearly 4,000 square feet of retail and office space. It will also have a detached three-level parking structure at First and Lakeside Avenue. Construction could begin early next year with an opening planned for spring 2027.