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The city of Portland has granted a building permit for a proposed South Waterfront District hotel years in the planning process.

Developers of Hyatt House on Jan. 5 got the go-ahead to begin building a six-story, 203-room hotel at 2080 S.W. River Drive – a plot of land known as RiverPlace parcel 8. Prominent Portland developer Williams & Dame Development and financial partner Riverplace Hotel Investors LLC are paying for the $46 million extended-stay hotel via private investments and participation in EB-5, a federal program that offers foreign investors American visas in exchange for a $500,000-plus investment in job-creating projects.

Homer Williams and Dike Dame in November 2012 bought the 1.12-acre parcel from the Portland Development Commission for $5.63 million. RiverPlace parcel 8 is one of the last developable lots in the South Waterfront District.

Construction will begin this month, and developers are hoping to open the hotel to guests in July 2016, according to John Mangan, a spokesman for Williams & Dame Development.

This is the second Portland hotel project Williams & Dame has financed through the EB-5 program. In April, the developers completed the 223-room Marriott Residence Inn in the Pearl District with funding from the federal program.

SERA Architects designed the hotel, and Howard S. Wright Construction is the general contractor for the project.