Jun. 27--Three big-name developers have emerged as leading contenders to build a luxury hotel and meeting space in Mountain View. 

Tonight, the city council is expected to follow a consultant's recommendation and ask Hyatt Development, Landmark Organization and Lowe Hospitality Group to submit detailed proposals for the hotel project, city economic development manager Ellis Berns said. The council is expected to select a developer in October. 

The project would be built on an 18.6-acre, city-owned site near Shoreline Amphitheatre and many of the city's largest tech companies. The city and its consultant say there's a strong demand for about 300 four-star hotel rooms and about 30,000 square feet of top-drawer meeting space despite the economic downturn. 

Hyatt's, Landmark's and Lowe's preliminary entries were deemed the best among nine competitors with "generally excellent qualifications," Berns said. "We're very excited that we got such a strong pool of candidates." 

Consultant Sedway Group, which has offices in San Francisco, judged them to have the strongest financial resources, the most extensive experience in developing high-end hotels and meeting spaces, and the best preliminary project concepts. 

Their desire to work with organized labor also was a key factor, as was their willingness to build an environmentally sensitive, energy-efficient project. 

Preliminary estimates show the project will fatten city coffers by $2.5 million to $2.7 million annually, largely from the city's 10 percent hotel room tax, lease payments to the city and property tax revenue going into the North Bayshore Redevelopment Fund. 

Mountain View is not the only city to look at hotel taxes as a hedge against unreliable revenue from the sales tax and the diminishing share of property tax it has been receiving in recent years. Los Altos has also been encouraging hotel development and is considering asking voters in the fall to increase the tax on hotel rooms to 10 percent from the current 8 percent. 

When the Mountain View council approved the so-called Charleston East site for the proposed hotel complex last year, there was no end in sight to the economic boom. They hoped to be able to lure a developer without having to kick in any public incentives. "We're still holding firm," Berns said. 

Also today, city leaders will consider several parks commission recommendations on the next proposed expansion of the Stevens Creek Trail: a 1.7-mile stretch from Yuba Drive to Mountain View High School that would cost more than $12 million. 

The council meets in special session today at 7:30 p.m. at 500 Castro St. 

-----To see more of the San Jose Mercury News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sjmercury.com 

(c) 2001, San Jose Mercury News, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.