Dec. 13--A longtime businessman and resident of Merced is eyeing a historic piece of property on Scotts Valley Drive for his first local venture -- a 112-room Holiday Inn Express and Suites.
Anatol Shliapnikoff said he plans to file an application with the city Planning Department by the end of the month to build a new $16 million hotel, part of an international chain, on land that once was home to the Scotts Valley post office and, later, a tool rental business.
The octagonal building, home to Owen Rental until about seven years ago, is "infested with termites," and about to fall down, according to Mayor Randy Johnson.
If approved by city leaders, Shliapnikoff's Holiday Inn Express and Suites would become the third hotel in Scotts Valley. The others are Best Western on the north end of town and the Hilton on La Madrona Drive at the southern edge.
Shliapnikoff, who purchased the Scotts Valley Drive property in 2004, said he hopes to draw clientele associated with Scotts Valley businesses such as Seagate and attract tourists headed to the beach in Santa Cruz.
"Let's face it, Scotts Valley is a very secure, clean area and I look at the Santa Cruz market as one market," Shliapnikoff said. "This is a fantastic location five miles from the coast. Really, there isn't much better than this."
He estimates the hotel could add dozens of new jobs and generate roughly $400,000 each year for the
city tax base from the 10 percent surcharge -- known as the transient occupancy tax -- Scotts Valley hotels charge customers and turn over to local governments.
Scotts Valley currently receives in the range of $500,000-$700,000 each year in hotel tax revenue, Johnson said.
The proposed hotel, Johnson said, would likely fit well with the city's goal of making Scotts Valley Drive a vibrant business corridor.
"Hotels help with commerce in general, businesses like coffee shops and restaurants stand to benefit," he said. "It'll give a better look to our town and serve as an opportunity for businesses to open on that corridor and draw more people to that area of town."
The City Council is expected to review Shliapnikoff's proposal in the spring, and construction could start by summer. Rooms would be ready in 2010.
Shliapnikoff also owns property in Watsonville, which he said he's contemplating to use for another hotel.
