April 05, 2013--HARLINGEN -- Plans have been submitted for a 100-room Marriott Residence Inn to be built near Bass Pro Shops.

Construction contractor Matrix Builder of Houston on Wednesday submitted the building permit request to the city planning and development department, director Ken Clark said.

The four-story hotel will cover 65,271 square feet and will be located at 109 Bass Pro Drive.

"It's undergoing review right now," Clark said. "I know it will take us a week or 10 days to review (the plans) and give them comments."

While Clark did not foresee any problems with the construction, he added, "It's just a question of getting everything squared away on the building permit, which usually just takes a couple of weeks or so."

He said he wasn't sure when construction would begin once the plan is approved.

The new hotel will be a strong contributor to the local economy, Mayor Chris Boswell said.

"It's a property that will be located almost adjacent to Bass Pro Shop, so it will be nice to have a hotel right there on the property," he said. "It will obviously contribute to additional property taxes and a hotel-motel tax revenue will be generated from the hotel."

Marriott headquarters said it had no record of any construction plans in Harlingen, which confused Ritesh Patel, owner of Matrix Builder.

"Usually they have everything on record," he said.

Patel said he owns other hotel franchises and purchased a Marriott franchise to build near Bass Pro Shop for its high visibility, as recommended by a consultant.

Patel said he plans to break ground for the new hotel next month, with a construction schedule of about 10 months.

When contacted Thursday, the Harlingen Economic Development Corporation said it has not given any economic development funding or incentives to this project.

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