A new five-story hotel is coming to El Camino Real in Sunnyvale.

The planning commission unanimously approved the project at its May 22 meeting. The hotel will be on a 0.55-acre site at 590 W. El Camino Real, situated between a Chick-Fil-A and a Marriott Hotel. In order to clear the way for it, a 2,675-square-foot former auto repair shop will be demolished.

The hotel will be 53,538 square feet and have 84 guestrooms and one maid’s room, as well as 68 parking spaces, both surface and underground. Access to the hotel and garage will be from El Camino Real.

Rooms will be 420 to 700 square feet, and the hotel will target business travelers. Planning documents submitted to the city call it a “luxury hotel of business hospitality.”

Although there are no plans for a restaurant or bar, there will be an open deck with seating along El Camino Real. The space is part of a planned 900-square-foot landscaped sitting area.

Degan Development Corporation is the project developer. A representative told commissioners the company plans to sell the project.

Commissioners had generally positive things to say about the hotel and were particularly happy with how far it will be from nearby residences. The hotel exceeds standard setbacks by staying more than 51 to 71 feet from the rear property line that abuts residential housing.

During a community outreach meeting in January last year, several residents from the nearby Las Palmas townhome community expressed concern that the hotel would be too close to their residences. However, no residents spoke about the hotel during the commission’s meeting.

Two residents who emailed the commission, both stated concerns over the amount of traffic another business would add to the area. Project representatives said they did not anticipate much additional traffic, noting that cars do not come and go from hotels as frequently as other types of businesses.

The commission approved the project, with a requirement that developers add a park strip in the back of the property and plant four native “estate-size trees” in the front along El Camino Real.

“If you add the estate-size trees, your hotel really will look better than the Marriott and more high end,” said Commissioner David Simons.

The commission’s decision is final unless it is appealed to or pulled for review by the city council.

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