AMERICAN FALLS — The old Hillview Motel that sits snug next to Interstate 86 and overlooks the city of American Falls will be undergoing some tender love and care after Idaho-based motel property management group X Stay Properties purchased the vacant building in early June.

Twin Falls resident Jaxon Pearl and his three partners bought the aged motel and plan to revitalize it with fresh, modern rooms that will be made available for extended stays when the renovations are complete.

But they know they’re in for a lot of work, Pearl said, who explained they plan to hire local crews to gut the rooms, freshen them up, fix the roof, clean up the parking lot, spruce up the curb appeal and more.

“What I love about the opportunity this property presents is that it’s one of the first things people will see when they enter American Falls — or even when they are just passing by,” Pearl said. “What will people remember about American Falls? We hope that the renovated Hillview Motel will make people feel something good about the American Falls community, even if it’s something small.”

This isn’t Xstay Property’s first project where they’ve tackled old motels and restored or converted them into locations that offer extended stay services, however. Along with owning other properties in cities like Burley, Twin Falls, and Jerome, Pearl and his business partners Jonah Leavitt, Glen Leavitt, and Winston Edgar also own Extended Stay Pocatello in Chubbuck.

The group had converted an old Motel 6 into the Extended Stay Pocatello location in early 2021, and they’ve seen success with increased occupancy by refurbishing the rooms and upgrading the property with high-speed internet.

Pearl intends to do something similar, revamping the Hillview—which will be called the Hillview Extended Stay—into a destination suited for longer stays.

“During a time where people are having lots of trouble finding places to rent, we hope to provide safe, clean, and affordable temporary housing solutions with all the basic necessities needed for a long-term or short-term flexible stay,” he said.

This includes installing kitchenettes and a large fridge into each room, providing free Wi-Fi and being pet-friendly. Utilities will be included, and guests can rent from week to week or month to month for around the same cost that Extended Stay Pocatello charges.

“Each room will be very clean with modern touches,” he said. “We’ll have new furniture, new paint, new floors — just about every square inch of this project will be thought about carefully with our future guests’ interest and comfort in mind.”

They expect renovations to last for at least six months, and Pearl said they’d love to have everything wrapped up and people moving in around Christmastime if they can get the help and if the supply-chain is willing.

Already, there’s a wait list.

“Our extended stay location in Pocatello has a wait list itself and there are already people who are interested in coming to this location,” he said. “They’re willing to drive from American Falls to Pocatello to go to work if they can live here.”

While Extended Stay Pocatello has a total of 108 rooms, the American Fall’s location will be smaller with 34 rooms.

They hope to accomplish most of the renovations through the help of local businesses, and even held a demo day to gauge local trade business interest and involvement in helping revitalize the building.

“One of the first things we did was have a big demo day and there were lots of people interested in getting this started,” he said. “The opportunity to create jobs makes the project even more enjoyable. We have had incredible support from the locals, including our friends with the city.”

This interest from the American Falls community has excited Pearl and the other owners, who will be operating the location from Pocatello. At some point, they will be hiring additional help to care for the day-to-day technicalities of running an extended stay property.

And while December is still half a year away, they’re seeing more and more interest from potential guests each day.

“The sky is the limit as long as the demand is there,” he said. “And right now, there’s so much demand.”

For anyone interested in providing assistance in the renovation or interested in learning more about the motel, you can contact Jaxon Pearl at 208-320-6780 for more information.

Hillview Motel is located at 2799 Lakeview Road.