MotoLodge owners David Mogg, left, and Jeremy Duncan cut the ceremonial ribbon the evening of June 16, 2022, to open their boutique hotel in Pendleton.

PENDLETON — Hotel development in Pendleton had a good year thanks in large measure to public money sparking private investment.

The Marigold Hotel in the city’s downtown regained new life with a new owner and management. And the former Knight’s Inn now is the MotoLodge, also with a new owner and management. Both developments involved funding from the Pendleton Development Commission.

True Holdings LLC, of Clackamas, is redeveloping The Marigold into extended stay lodgings. The project cost to True Holdings is approximately $3.7 million to $4 million, with purchase price of $1.5 million, remodeling expense of $2.2 million and the costs of furnishings, according to a report to the commission from Charles Denight, Pendleton urban renewal associate director.

Cascadia Hospitality bought the Knight’s Inn in late 2021. The company’s $1.3 million renovation transformed a relic from times past into a new boutique hotel, the MotoLodge.

The PDC provided $500,000 grants to both projects as well as a $100,000 Jump Start loan for the Motolodge. Sidney True of True Holdings said the PDC grant was the “the sine qua non” — an essential component of the project.

“In a nutshell, the whole thing would not have happened without the PDC grant,” he said. “The grant gave us the confidence to close the deal to buy the property.”

Cascadia Hospitality owners Jeremy Duncan, David Mogg and Nick Pearson spearheaded the renovation of the Motolodge. The three were drawn into the atmosphere of Pendleton but were unsure the money would work out.

“We only stopped in Pendleton on our way to see a hotel in Baker City,” Mogg said. “Then we saw this hotel and knew that’s what we wanted. We got really excited. After going over the numbers, we didn’t even end up going to Baker City.”

They talked things over with Pendleton Economic Development Director Steve Chrisman. The funds from the PDC cleared hurdles to get things moving. The hotel opened in June. The deal requires Cascadia Hospitality to pay back the loan in three years with a 3% interest rate.

One more hotel also opened in Pendleton in 2022: The Radisson next to the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport.

The East Oregonian is counting down its top 10 local news stories of 2022 (barring, of course, another major news story before the end of the year).

We derived our top 10 from analytics about what was popular online as well as our sense of what was newsworthy. Our top 10 contains a variety of stories, and we also encourage you to share your ideas for top 10 local news stories.