Sep. 26, 2008 --Scottsdale has approved a deal to scrap high-end downtown condos and instead support an extended-stay Element hotel along the Arizona Canal on the westernmost site of the SouthBridge project, the East Valley Tribune reported.

The planned three-story, 125-unit hotel is being financed by Lewis Wolff, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team and chairman of Wolff Urban Development, a real estate and development firm. Wolff is also the co-founder of a hotel investment group that manages top-tier luxury hotels.

Element is a relatively new concept by Westin and is part of the Starwood Hotels chain. The first one opened in Massachusetts, and many more are planned to open around the country and in Canada in the next couple of years, including Tempe. The Element Web site says the brand offers an environmentally friendly hotel with a full kitchen in guest rooms.

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