EVERETT – Howard Johnson Plaza, the city’s largest hotel, is being sold and will shut down as the new owner makes substantial renovations to the 23-year-old building.
Employees, who will soon be out of jobs, told guests this week that the hotel is scheduled to shut down Sept. 17.
The sale of the hotel, which has nearly 250 rooms, comes after several years of turmoil between the previous owner and the company managing the hotel’s day-to-day operations.
“It will all be for the better,” said Karen Shaw, Everett’s director of economic development and human needs. “I’m excited for the hotel’s potential.”
Because the sale is still ongoing, Shaw and people involved in the transaction said the new owner doesn’t yet want to be identified. No details of the transaction have been released.
Built in 1981 on the west side of I-5 near downtown Everett, the Howard Johnson is considered the only full-service hotel within the city limits. It offers an on-site restaurant and lounge, meeting spaces and in-room services.
But the hotel, which has been for sale for years, also has not seen many major improvements. In Snohomish County’s latest assessment of the hotel and its 3.5-acre property, the value of the building actually dropped more than $300,000.
Now, the combined value of the hotel and land at 3105 Pine St. is $6.7 million, according to the county assessor’s office.
The four-year legal fight between the hotel’s previous owners, Pacific West Hotels Inc., and the company that was leasing the hotel and running the day-to-day operations ended earlier this year.
Seattle-based Everett Pacific Hotel Associates had operated the hotel since 1994. It was sued by Pacific West in 2000. That suit was settled after an agreement that called for Everett Pacific to buy the hotel.
But the sale collapsed, and another civil suit followed. Then Everett Pacific filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Finally, this spring the bankruptcy case was dismissed and the civil suit was settled. Everett Pacific hasn’t leased the hotel since then, but an associated company, Northwest Lodging Inc., has managed it.
The new owner, however, plans major changes, Shaw said.
“He’s closing because he wants to make some sizable renovations,” she said.
Employees said they were told the hotel would be closed until at least summer 2005.
It’s unclear how many people will lose their jobs; the hotel has shed much of its staff in the past two months. A manager at the Howard Johnson Plaza referred calls to Northwest Lodging, which did not respond.
The closure may boost other county hotels and motels.
“It could help us out this winter,” said Keith Lander, general manager at Best Western Cascadia Inn across Pacific Avenue from the Howard Johnson. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
Lander said the 134-room Cascadia Inn used to get overflow guests when the Howard Johnson hosted conventions, but that has trailed off. More recently, it’s gotten guests who didn’t like the condition of their rooms or the service at the Howard Johnson, Lander said.
Sandy Ward, executive director of the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau, said she’s encouraged by the sale.
“It’s the best news we’ve had all week. Everett is such an important part of Snohomish County. Having a full-service hotel again within the city limits will be fabulous.”
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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