New hotel planned in Rainier Square shopping area in Yakima

The success of a Hilton-affiliated extended stay hotel has prompted Yakima-based Hogback Development Company to build another hotel next to it.

Construction of “Tru by Hilton — Yakima Airport” has started in the Rainier Square shopping area, immediately west of the Home 2 Suites by Hilton hotel which opened on May 30, 2019, said Chris Waddle, lead developer with Hogback Development.

“It’s as streamlined of a hotel as possible — a different kind of hotel for Hilton,” Waddle said. “The rooms are geared toward young professionals, and are a little bit smaller, especially compared to an extended stay hotel like Home 2 Suites.

“The rooms are bright and flashy, but have none of what you don’t need.”

While site work is underway, construction of the 74-room hotel’s structure is expected to begin in March, with a targeted opening in spring 2024, Waddle said. Combined with Home 2 Suites’ 107 rooms, the two hotels will provide 60 jobs and $4 million in annual hospitality taxes, he added.

Waddle noted the location at 2420 W. Nob Hill Blvd. is not only close to the Yakima airport, but also convenient for those visiting family in the Yakima Valley.

“When we were developing Home 2 Suites, we found not just a need but a desire to get out of downtown Yakima when coming to stay in Yakima,” Waddle said. “Home 2 Suites is by far the most occupied hotel in Yakima, and it’s not downtown.”

He said the nearby Sozo Sports complex, MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital and the adjacent restaurants of Rainier Square shopping area attract people to the Home 2 Suites and should also help fill the Tru by Hilton.

“We were at full occupancy on Thanksgiving day, because it’s near where a lot of people live,” Waddle said of Homes 2 Suites. “The majority of people in Yakima live within a 3-mile radius of 24th (Avenue) and Nob Hill (Boulevard) — not within a 3-mile radius of downtown Yakima.”