Illustration of planned hotel

Last week, the City of El Cajon closed on the sale of land at the northeast corner of Magnolia and Rea avenues that will one day be occupied by a hotel. The Marriott will be the first four-star hotel in East County.

"The development of the east county's first high quality business hotel by a renowned company, such as Marriott, is a huge economic win for the City of El Cajon and it will be a key aspect of its Downtown," reads a promotional release from the city. "The hotel is expected to bring new jobs to the City and inevitably draw additional business investment."

Existing buildings at the site, which include unoccupied commercial facilities, will be used by police SWAT teams and local fire & rescue departments for exercises before being demolished in the coming months, with construction on the hotel expected to begin as early as January 2016.

A second luxury hotel is planned for the city, to be operated by Hampton Inns, a part of the Hilton hotel brand. It's slated for the site of the former police department headquarters on Fletcher Parkway, across from the Parkway Plaza shopping mall. The Hampton bid, at $4.1 million, was selected over bids from another hotelier at $4.8 million and a drugstore/fast-food proposal at $5.1 million because it was believed that the development would provide "the greatest overall economic benefit to the community."