Marriott to Unveil $50-Million, Full-Service Asset

A real estate and development company owned by baseball impresario John Moores has started construction of a $50-million, full-service Marriott Hotel in this upscale North County suburb of San Diego. Moores has a controlling stake in the San Diego Padres. JMI Realty, the development subsidiary of Moores’ JMI Inc., plans to finish construction of the 284-room Marriott on El Camino Real about a year from now.

JMI is also the master developer of Downtown San Diego’s fledgling Ballpark District. Another Marriott project, the Marriott Spectrum, is slated to begin construction by Huntington Hotel Development soon at the former General Dynamics plant site in Kearny Mesa. The project would be finished by the end of next year.

San Diego’s strong economy, combined with a sharp rise in both business and leisure travel, has triggered a boom in new hotel projects throughout the county. Construction of at least a half-dozen lodging facilities has started this year, and another dozen or so are on the drawing boards.