Nov. 5--Cranberry's supervisors say they are likely next month to approve construction of a hotel.

The 44-suite, six-story hotel, which still does not have a name, is slated to be built on a 5-acre site at Graham School Road near Rochester Road. It is one of four hotels being proposed for construction in Cranberry.

The hotel is being built by James A. West Properties, a Hampton developer. The company built Cranberry's Village at Laurelwood apartments, which are across the street from the new hotel.

Supervisors are scheduled to vote on preliminary and final approval for the hotel at a Dec. 3 meeting.

The hotel will cater to those in need of an extended stay and has rooms equipped with kitchens, said Ron Henshaw, Cranberry's director of community development.

"There are many people who are in need of this type of accommodation -- people who might be moving into the area and people who need a place to stay for more than a couple of nights," Henshaw said.

Developers have been interested in the hotel's proposed site for at least five years, Henshaw said. "There are wetlands on the site, which complicated plans for development."

The wetlands have been preserved, Henshaw said.

This hotel is one of four new proposed hotels in Cranberry, Henshaw said. A Homewood Suites hotel and a Hilton Garden Inn are planned for the Village At Cranberry Woods, a retail-office-hotel complex being built near the headquarters of the Westinghouse Electric Co.'s nuclear energy office complex.

If approved, the Candlewood Suites hotel will be located on the east side of Route 19 just south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Cranberry officials say they are pleased that so many projects are still underway in tough economic times.

"Cranberry is blessed to be doing well in these economic times. In other places, developers might have already canceled projects like this," said Dick Hadley, chairman of Cranberry's board of supervisors.

Hadley says there have been some complaints from residents who say there are too many hotels in Cranberry.

He does not agree. "I'm sure that developers understand what the market here and what demand is like."

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