PLEASANT GROVE — Officials from Pleasant Grove and a major hotel-industry company on Wednesday heralded plans to build a 10-story hotel and conference center in the Utah County city.

At a morning ceremony, Mike Daniels, the city's mayor, and businessman John Q. Hammons officially announced plans for the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center.

Groundbreaking for the development will occur in spring 2007 in the southeast quadrant of the intersection of I-15 and Pleasant Grove Boulevard. The site for the hotel, which would become the tallest building in Pleasant Grove, is adjacent to a planned Gateway-like shopping center.

According to Hammons, founder and chief executive officer of John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts, the hotel is scheduled to open in 2009.

Hammons' firm owns and manages upscale, full-service hotels, resorts and suites, including Embassy Suites Hotels, Marriott, Radisson, Holiday Inn and Courtyard by Marriott brands.

The new Embassy Suites will have 300 rooms and will be adjoined by the 100,000-square-foot convention center with a 38,000-square-foot ballroom that will have the flexibility to be divided into 24 meeting rooms.

"The booming lower Utah Valley needs quality accommodations to complement the growth experienced by the cities of Pleasant Grove and the adjacent cities of Orem and Provo," Hammons said in a statement. "The time is right to build a luxury, full-service facility, especially given the community's burgeoning new retail and business developments in the area."

The development will be the firm's first in Utah.

"We are honored that a developer of Mr. Hammons' caliber recognizes the potential of our city and is committed to helping us cultivate this ever-growing community," Daniels said.

Daniels said the development likely will provide phenomenal economic growth not only to the city, but also to the entire county.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, and Utah Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, were on hand for the unveiling of the plans.

"Our every intention is to keep Pleasant Grove pleasant," Huntsman said. "We want to keep our young minds here, and this will provide an infrastructure for jobs and growth."

The governor said Utah is the fifth-fastest growing state in the country. He said the facility will help plan for ensuring prosperity for the future.

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