The owner of almost 11 acres of land near the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon is negotiating with a hotel development company interested in building a pair of hotels on the site.

Wasatch Gates LLC, owned by Salt Lake businessman and philanthropist Kevin Gates, is talking to The Summit Group of Sioux Falls, S.D., about two buildings on part of the property at 7350 S. Wasatch Blvd, said Greg Platt, a Cottonwood Heights planner.

The hotels would sit on the east side of the property. Preliminary plans call for 25 homes to be constructed on the west side.

"We are doing the first architectural review for that development. Right now the plan is to put in two hotels, one on the north end [of the east side], one on the south end, about 150 rooms each," Platt said.

It isn't certain, however, the owner and developer will strike a deal. The Summit Group has asked the city for permission to construct buildings with three stories, which Platt said would be permitted if an architectural review decides a third floor would be compatible with the mostly residential neighborhood.

"For this project to be viable, they have to have the third floor, they say. If not, they will probably pull out of the deal," Platt said.

A spokeswoman said Gates was not ready to discuss the project.

"He said that we are not able to answer any questions right now, that we are still in the process and it would be premature for us to say anything about our plans," Annette Singleton said.

A woman at Summit's headquarters said the company did not want to comment.

The privately held company develops, owns and manages what it says are "upscale limited-service lodgings" in 19 states. In Utah, it operates a Hampton Inn in Provo and a Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites in Sandy.

Other franchise names include Hilton Garden Inn, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Aspen Hotel and Suites and TownePlace Suites by Marriott.

The Snowbird Canyon Racquet & Fitness Club occupied the property until shortly after Gates bought it from Snowbird Corp. in 2006. Snowbird sold the club because of financial pressures caused by the growth of taxpayer-supported fitness centers in Salt Lake County.

At the time, Gates had not decided what he would do with the property, but he said his company would develop "first-class facilities" that would please Cottonwood Heights residents.

In August, Wasatch Gates asked the city to rezone the property "from regional commercial" to "mixed use" so it could develop two hotels, two buildings that might contain restaurants and 25 high-end family homes. City officials agreed to the request in September, despite protests from some neighbors.

Platt said Wasatch Gates is no longer saying how many homes may be built.

"It still will be residential. Now they aren't putting any number to it and we aren't requiring them to. We will just require that they show some residential use. It could be apartments, condos or houses," Platt said.