Making progress

One's expected to be the first of a five-hotel area, and the other's planned as a piece of a "lifestyle center," but two hotels in Odessa are making progress.

Construction is going strong on a new $3 million Comfort Inn & Suites at the northeast corner of Interstate 20 and JBS Parkway. Gary Vest, Odessa's economic development director, said it's the first of five hotels planned for the Odessa Industrial Park to begin construction.

A deal has already been closed to bring in a new Holiday Inn Express and Super 8 Motel across the street, Vest said. Two more hotels, one possibly a Candlewood Suites and the other not yet released, are also planned.

Vest said the new hotels have been made possible by the recently completed I-20 overpass at JBS Parkway, as well as the still-under-construction JBS Parkway bridge over Business Interstate 20.

"That's what spurred this," he said. "That's what made our business park really heat up."

In addition, a new $5 million Marriott TownePlace Suites is getting under way this week as part of the MCM Plaza development near Music City Mall.

Jerry Penick, assistant mall manager, said the facility would cater to extended-stay guests.

"It should help out with some of our short-term housing shortages," he said.

With the mall, restaurants and new stores including a Lowe's home improvement center, Penick said the area could be attractive to conferences, as well as people on personal trips.

Meanwhile, Vest hopes restaurants will follow hotels to the area near the I-20-JBS Parkway interchange.

"It's kind of a natural progression," he said.

Linda Sweatt, Odessa Convention and Visitors Bureau director, said the city's lost potential events because hotels are completely full.

"The new hotels will give us a plus in that area," she said.

And with a check of expedia.com showing room rates in Odessa between $90 and $169 a night, the city plans to make a pretty penny off the 7 percent it collects from an occupancy tax.

"That's good to see this," Sweatt said. "We need to continue that growth."

Vest said he's never heard of six hotels being in development in Odessa at the same time.

 "It's pretty significant," he said.