Hotel eyed for Harbor Avenue

Gerry Kingen, owner of Salty's on Alki, is considering building a "boutique hotel" in the parking lot south of his Harbor Avenue restaurant.

Boutique hotels are usually more intimate and more expensive than hotel chains, so Kingen plans to offer niceties such as fireplaces and soaking tubs. He envisions a two-story building with 20 suites measuring about 500 square feet each. The new hotel would not require a kitchen because the restaurant could provide all necessary food service.

The zoned height limit for the building site is 35 feet and the hotel would occupy about 14,000 square feet.

"People want a small and very intimate atmosphere, not big towers," Kingen said.

He emphasized the architectural design of the boutique hotel is in its infancy. He has not applied for building permits from the city. Nor has he contacted state officials about his plans, which would bring state regulations into play because the project is close to Puget Sound.

For many years, Kingen leased the parking lot on the south side of the popular Harbor Avenue restaurant. Recently he bought the lot and now thinks a boutique hotel is the way to defer that expense.

Another man with continuing visions of building a hotel on Alki, Tom Lin wishes Kingen well in his pursuits.

"If Gerry can do it, great," Lin said. "More power to him."

About three years ago, Lin proposed building the Inn at Alki Beach across the street from Alki Beach. It's planned as a three-story hotel with about 48 guest rooms, plus a restaurant, coffee shop and public courtyard. Lin intends to build it on Alki Avenue Southwest between 58th and Marine avenues.

The Alki Beach hotel would be approximately twice the size of Kingen's proposal.

Lin took a lot of public criticism when he announced his hotel plans. Many people argued the domino theory: allowing hotels to be built at Alki will inevitably weaken the neighborhood's beachfront funkiness and make the area more commercial, more slick.

After his unsuccessful first efforts to sell the community on his hotel proposal, Lin said the only way to gain public acceptance for building a hotel near Alki Beach is to convince Alki residents there's a shortage of lodging in West Seattle.

"I definitely have not given up on it," Lin said. "I'm staying put right now until the timing is better."

Meanwhile, new owners recently took over West Seattle's only existing motel or hotel, the West Seattle Travelodge. Its new name is Seattle West Inn & Suites and it is no longer affiliated with Travelodge.

As for Gerry Kingen, he hopes to open his new boutique hotel next to Salty's in 2010.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at 932-0300 or timstc@robinsonnews.com