Mercer Island will soon have a new hotel, if a new proposal by Mercer Island developer James Cassan and his company, Dollar Development Co., is realized.
The company announced its intention to build a boutique hotel adjacent to Interstate 90 in a press release first published by the Mercer Island Reporter on Jan. 22.
The 5-story boutique hotel will have 100 rooms above a subterranean parking garage with a street level lobby and a second floor pool deck & mezzanine area, according to the press release.
New zoning regulations, however, may undermine the proposal. Dollar Development owner James Cassan said he worried that changes to the so-called 60/40 rule and new parking regulations would make the proposal untenable, but did not specifically say how.
The Mercer Island community has been without a hotel for over 5 years after a Travelodge that was located on the same site, 7645 Sunset Highway, was closed.
Architect and urban designer, Chek F. Tang of Studio T-SQ designed renderings
displaying a modern hotel with an open layout, allowing light and optimal views of the surrounding water into each suite.
Dollar Development is a real estate development company that focuses primarily on retail and multi-residential projects. Its most visible Mercer Island project is the Mercer Luxury Apartments & Hotel Suites, would be located to the south and east of the new Hotel Mercer.