Hilton agrees to build a 107-room hotel at The Shoppes at Sun Mountain

WASILLA — As Krispy Kreme opens their doors on Tuesday, The Shoppes at Sun Mountain have already begun establishing a shopping hub in Wasilla.

Krispy Kreme joined Planet Fitness and Sonic, who opened TSASM to record breaking numbers among Sonic franchises. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the open of Krispy Kreme, developer Cameron Johnson announced that Hilton has agreed to build a 107-unit Home 2 Suites at TSASM tentatively set to open in 2022.

“We’re providing a more upscale business friendly hotel that has all of the amenities that can provide the services that more upscale clientele are looking for and the Valley’s never had that so we think it’ll be a great addition to not just our center but to the entire Mat-Su Valley,” said Johnson.

Johnson and H5 Construction began building the massive shopping center in 2018 and will welcome more tenants in the summer of 2020. Following Krispy Kreme will be MTA, Zag Invisible Shield, Tacos Cancun and Fred Meyer Fuel in the fall. With anchor tenants for the smaller shopping centers, the four-story Hilton building will upgrade the hotel options in the Valley and provide a backdrop for TSASM.

“It’s one less reason to go to Anchorage,” said Wasilla Mayor Bert Cottle. “It’s time. The need is there. If we’re going to do conventions and be competitive across the state, we’ve got to have more housing. We’ve got to have more hotel rooms.”

Cottle appreciates the hotels that currently do business in Wasilla but said that they are more appropriate for traveling tourists and visiting sports teams and do not feature expanded meeting space to attract conventions and groups. The Hilton Home 2 will begin civil construction in the fall of 2020 and break ground in earnest in May of 2021. The Hilton will feature an indoor pool, fitness center, laundry services, breakfast area and expanded modern meeting space in what Johnson describes as a sleek, modern design. The process of continuing to sign leases for tenants at Sun Mountain has been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically with retail chain stores. Johnson said that he suspects COVID-19 will delay his goal of completing the project within five to seven years by at least 12 months and he may opt to provide more business spaces and restaurants if retail chains do not rebound from a difficult time for many chains. Cottle says that with 185 chain stores throughout Wasilla currently, many are setting up shop in the Valley in an attempt to chase their competitors to a growing economy.

“Nothing against Anchorage but Anchorage rules and regulations are a lot more cumbersome, a lot more difficult to deal with than what we are out here so you know you can come out here get your building permits and be under construction within what, three months, six months if you follow all the rules? Anchorage will take you a year or two, and the same with Palmer. I can go over and build a business in Palmer and not take two years of studies and all that kind of stuff so I think we’re more attractive,” said Cottle.

Thus far, Johnson says he believes in the process of the development he is building at Sun Mountain. With success in the opening of Sonic and Planet Fitness pre-pandemic, Johnson is hopeful that the continuing construction will lead to an economic hub for the Valley in decades to come.

“ I still think that we’re going to be able to deliver the premier shopping center in the Mat-Su Valley for years to come, it may just take a little longer than initially expected,” said Johnson.