Two new hotels soon will be added to Harmar’s landscape after approvals from township officials this week.
Plans call for razing the Days Inn hotel, off Landings Drive, to make way for a Home2Suites and a Fairfield Inn at the site.
The township supervisors approved the land development plans for the project this week; Harmar’s zoning board gave the green light to a height variance request Thursday.
“I have no issues,” said William “Red” McElligott, zoning board chairman. “I’ve reviewed this at length. … I’m confident moving forward.”
With those approvals, the plan will now go to Allegheny County planning officials for review.
Demolition of the Days Inn and construction of the two new sites would begin “as soon as possible,” said Bob Hackel, of FORM Group Architects.
The height variance granted a maximum building height of 56 feet — 6 feet more than the zoning code. That’s needed for the hotels to have five floors of rooms, said Kayla Hiner, of KDH Consulting Engineers.
“The site doesn’t provide for the number of guest rooms that we’re looking for to make it a viable project,” Hackle said of why the applicant, K&R Hotels II, was requesting the variance.
The Home2Suites hotel would have 101 rooms; and Fairfield would have 78, Hiner said.
Both hotels would be the first of their brands in the Alle-Kiski Valley.
Home2Suites, by Hilton, has Pittsburgh-area locations in Cranberry and McCandless. Fairfield Inn, by Marriott, is a bit more common in the Pittsburgh region with sites in Downtown Pittsburgh, New Stanton, Washington, Robinson, McCandless and Neville Island.
Hiner said granting the variance wouldn’t have an impact on the businesses in that section of the township, as hotels there are of similar height. A Quality Inn and Holiday Inn Express are also on Landings Drive.
“The hotels on that strip are all five-story hotels,” Hiner said.
Other hotels in that section of Harmar, between the Turnpike interchange, Route 28 and the Hulton Bridge, include the Valley Motel, TownePlace Suites and Hampton Inn.