LAPLACE — Forty-five new jobs are on the horizon for the River Region, as Q Hotel Management is planning to build two new hotels, as well as a corporate office building, on U.S. 51 in LaPlace.

The LaPlace-based corporate team already has a portfolio that includes three LaPlace hotels — Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Hampton Inn and Best Western Inn — as well as 11 single-family homes and the River Oaks Apartment Complex.

Q Hotel Management Developer Vedant Vasanji, a St. John the Baptist Parish resident, said approximately 80 local people are already employed by his company’s properties.

Vasanji said he grew up in the hotel business. At one point during the beginning of the growth of the family business, his bed was in a cabinet drawer when his family lived in a one-bedroom apartment inside a small Best Western in Delhi.

Business is booming now, Vasanji said, adding St. John Parish’s proximity to New Orleans and the regional airport, as well as the number of petrochemical plants, make the area an attractive area for hotel development.

“We’re excited to be here and we love to see St. John grow and love to grow with St. John,” he said.

The first of the two planned hotels for the highway intersecting Interstate 10 is a $12 million TownePlace Suites by Marriott. Vasanji said the 93-suite offering will be located directly behind the Best Western Inn on U.S. 51, adding the building will offer better accommodations for long-stay guests, including those employed by petrochemical companies.

According to the company’s website, qhotelmanagement.com, TownePlace Suites is recognized as the top mid-priced extended stay hotel, and upon completion the LaPlace location will be the only upscale extended stay hotel in St. John Parish. All suites will feature a fully equipped kitchen with full-sized appliances and ample workspace.

Vasanji said permitting should be complete by weeks-end, and the hotel, which will employ 25 people, should take a year to complete.

In conjunction with that build will be a 14,000 square foot office complex next to Hampton Inn. The 19-office building will serve as a headquarters for Q Hotel Management, which owns properties in several cities, including Houma, Donaldsonville and Baton Rouge.

Vasanji said the office building is also projected to take a year to build.

Permitting work for an $8 million La Quinta Hotel will start in 2016, Vasanji said.

The 74-room La Quinta, employing 20 people, will be located at the intersection of U.S. 51 and Woodland Drive.

Hiring announcements for the two new hotels will be forthcoming, Q Hotel Management President Vimal Patel said, adding his company’s growth ultimately benefits all of St. John Parish due to revenue taxes pumped into the local economy.

Local hiring of employees and subcontractors, Vasanji said, is another benefit to the River Region.

“It benefits us to work with someone local,” he said.

“We’re very excited about these projects.”