WATSONVILLE—The National 9 Motel in the heart of the city will be razed in the coming days to make way for a four-story, 80-room Hilton Home2 Suites hotel.
Kamalesh Patel, the owner of the half-acre lot at 1 Western Drive, was issued a demolition permit from the Community Development Department on Jan. 21.
He expects demolition will begin Monday, though rainy weather could push back the schedule. Demolition should take around three weeks, and construction will then tak 18 months.
“We’re excited, there’s nothing else to say but that,” Patel said. “We appreciate the city’s patience with us in navigating Covid times.”
Approved as a La Quinta Inn by the Watsonville City Council in 2016 and revised to fit under the Hilton Hotel family in 2018, it will sit in the intersection of Freedom Boulevard and Main Street just across the street from St. Patrick’s church.
Patel said the property has been under his family’s ownership since 1993. The redevelopment project started six years ago.
The new hotel will feature two meeting rooms and a pool, as well as 85 parking spaces, the majority of them underground, for customers and staff. Hilton advertises its Home2 Suites hotels as an affordable, all-suite location that is aimed at travelers looking to make an extended stay.
City officials have said the hotel is expected to generate roughly $200,000 annually in transient occupancy tax dollars. It will also create 20-25 full-time jobs, Patel said.
