The new Courtyard by Marriott at 401 Storke Road in Goleta opened its doors on Aug. 23. (courtesy photo)

After nine years of planning and development, the $28 million Courtyard by Marriott in Goleta opened its doors Aug. 23.

The 106-room hotel is located on three acres at 401 Storke Road, down the street from Isla Vista and a mile away from the UC Santa Barbara campus. Bob Olson, CEO of Irvine-based R.D. Olson Development, one of the developers behind the project, said the hotel will meet the needs of the university and the industrial and tech firms headquartered in Goleta.

“Clearly UCSB is a primary demand generator in Goleta, and the Courtyard concept is ideally suited to serve the many lodging needs emanating from the university community,” Olsen said in a news release. “At the same time, business travelers will value the functional design and interactive work areas found in this latest generation of Courtyard by Marriott.”

The 68,000-square-foot hotel was co-developed by R.D. Olson and Santa Barbara-based Wynmark Co., the owner of nearby Camino Real Marketplace shopping center. The Goleta Technology Park and Girsh Park are also close to the Marriott property. Construction began in November. At the time, spokeswoman Lisa Porter told the Business Times that R.D. Olson is “used to working on the fast track” and planned to wrap up construction by this summer.

The property was originally called the Camino Real Hotel, but the developers decided last year to capitalize on Marriott’s brand. It was designed by Lee and Sakahara Architects in Irvine.

Goleta Mayor Ed Easton was on hand at the Aug. 23 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the hotel, which is set to generate about $500,000 in transient occupancy taxes for the 10-year-old town. Dan Singer, the city manager, said in March that the bed tax revenue raised from the Marriott would be a significant boon to Goleta’s finances, especially if the City Council approves a proposed plan to raise the tax from 10 percent to 12 percent.

R.D. Olson is also developing an extended-stay Marriott Residence Inn at 6300 Hollister Ave. That $15.8 million hotel was originally set to open in 2011, but plans were pushed back.

Another hotel in the pipeline for Goleta is the Rincon Palms Hotel and Restaurant, an $11 million project being developed by Daketta Pacific. There’s a parcel of land at the corner of Storke Road and Hollister Avenue that’s set aside for the independently operated, 166-room hotel and conference center, but construction is on hold.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated to clarify that R.D. Olson is the developer behind the Marriott Residence Inn at 6300 Hollister Ave.]