Crews have started clearing a 3.5-acre parcel of land just north of Target on Alderwood Mall Parkway. It’s the start of a long-awaited project to build two new hotels.

New Mexico-based Legacy Hospitality is building a Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites. There will be a total of 250 rooms along with dining and business facilities. Both buildings will sit on top of a two-story parking garage.

“Our hotels will provide both traditional hotel rooms and extended stay accommodations for business travelers and families,” Legacy’s Faizel Kassam said. “While we are currently headquartered in Albuquerque, we hope to make Lynnwood our second home.”

The project has been at least three years in the making, but because of the weak economy the developer was unable to secure construction funding until recently.

A portion of the site adjacent to SR 525 will be set aside for a future connection to Ash Way with a continuation to Beech Road, which will take some traffic demand off Alderwood Mall Parkway.

The most recent hotel to open in Lynnwood was the Holiday Inn Express, which opened in early 2010. Right now there are about 1,375 hotel rooms within the city limits.