Stockton Metropolitan Airport (SCK) is issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to developers for an opportunity to build a hotel with between 150 and 200 rooms on Airport property. The site of the hotel, at the southeast corner of Arch Airport Road and B Street, is adjacent to one of the largest and newest conference venues in San Joaquin County, the Robert J. Cabral Agricultural Center.
The RFQ is seeking a hotel that provides conference space within the property so that it augments the nearby conference center. Few hotels were built in San Joaquin County in the last decade and both demand and rates for existing ones have gone up significantly as the economy has improved.
“The Hotel and Conference Center Study prepared for the County last year cited this location as one of the prime hotel opportunities in the County,” said Harry Mavrogenes, Airport Director. He also cited a more recent Economic Impact Study of the Airport, prepared by the University of the Pacific, which revealed that the Airport had an annual economic impact to the County of over half a billion dollars, noting that the economic growth at the Airport is projected to continue.
The Airport currently accommodates 180,000 passengers per year, which will grow as new flights are added. Recently, Amazon began its own air cargo services, Prime Air, at the Stockton Metropolitan Airport and is flying four daily flights to other national destinations. “We are very proud of our Airport and the strong economic generator that it has become for the County,” remarked Moses Zapien, Chair of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors.
The deadline for the RFQ proposals is Nov. 23, and it is anticipated that several developers will be invited back to prepare specific proposals. The selected developer will then enter into an exclusive negotiations agreement with the County Board of Supervisors. A final selection will be made by early spring of 2017.
