Fairbourne Station Redevelopment Sees Groundbreaking on First Full-Service Hotel

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

The groundbreaking ceremony for the first full-service hotel in West Valley City took place on Thursday. Located at the corner of 3500 South and Market streets, the new Embassy Suites hotel is part of the Fairbourne Station redevelopment project.

According to the project’s Web site, the 140,530-square-foot hotel will be seven stories high, with 162 guest suites. Amenities will include a restaurant, an indoor pool, recreation facilities and 6,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, along with technological features such as smartphone check-in and keyless entry technology on guestroom doors. The hotel is scheduled for a late 2012 completion.

The Fairbourne Station project was started on May 19, 2011, and upon completion will include 200,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of office space, 1,000 urban residences and four acres of urban lineal park and plaza space.

The project will further the town of West Valley City’s longtime history–dating back to the 19th century–of being a transportation hub and key commercial stopping point. Providing a downtown for the city, it will feature the first bus rapid transit service in Utah. Located between major west-side thoroughfares, minutes away from Salt Lake Valley’s major freeways and the Salt Lake International Airport, Fairbourne Station will also offer pedestrian and biking amenities.

The master developer of the project is the Redevelopment Agency of West Valley City, which in addition to Embassy Suites  has partnered with Hines and ICO, one of the state’s largest commercial developers.