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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Convention Center Hotel Financing Approved

The Washington Business Journal reports that the Council passed legislation today that will enable construction to begin on the the 1,167-room Marriott Marquis Convention Center Hotel at Ninth Street and Massachusetts Avenue. Specifically, the legislation provides that the city will finance $206 million of the project’s final cost -- with another $2 million dedicated to apprenticeship programs for D.C. workers -- while the developers contribute $331 million in debt and equity.

Back in June, the Business Journal reported that construction could start this Fall if the Council passed this legislation today. I've got my fingers crossed that the hotel indeed breaks ground in the coming months. Completion of the hotel -- which will, among many other things, bring ground floor retail to lower Ninth Street in Shaw, keep convention-goers in the area, provide jobs, help attract conventions, and give us a beautiful, iconic building where surface parking now exists -- will be a major boon to the area.

4 comments:

ML said...

Do we know if all of the financing discussion has changed the vision/design at all of what was to be a Marriott Marquis hotel (one of only a handful in the country)?

Hopefully, it hasn't morphed into the the "Marriott HoJo."

Shaw Rez said...

Press release from the Convention Center:

WALTER E. WASHINGTON CONVENTION CENTER HEADQUARTERS HOTEL FINANCING APPROVED

BY D.C. CITY COUNCIL

Groundbreaking for Washington, DC Marriott Marquis anticipated this fall

(Washington, DC) – The D.C. City Council gave the final legislative approval Tuesday for the public financing component for the District’s new 1,167-room Convention Center Headquarters Hotel. Groundbreaking for the hotel is slated for this fall with an opening anticipated in the first quarter of 2013.

"The Convention Center Hotel project has become a wonderful example of effective District government at work – with the unwavering support of the mayor and the tremendous effort of the council, we are poised to break ground this fall on this vital project for the District," said Gregory A. O'Dell, CEO and general manager of the Washington Convention Center Authority.

The $537 million, four-star hotel will be one of only three Marriott Marquis properties in the country and located across the street from the Convention Center at the northwest corner of 9th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NW. The developer will be Quadrangle Development Corporation, an established Washington, DC-based firm with a successful history in commercial real estate development, including hotels. Their locally-based minority partner is Capstone Development, LLC, whose principal has a long history in hotel development. The Authority and the District Government will be paid for the use of their land through a 99-year ground lease.

“Our customers have told us since the beginning that a headquarters hotel is a necessity for Washington, DC to be a competitive meetings and convention destination. The new hotel will allow us to not only maximize the Center’s economic impact but will also create jobs for District residents during construction as well as operations of the hotel,” added O’Dell.

This headquarters hotel construction is also expected to spur other redevelopment projects for the continued economic revitalization of the historic Shaw neighborhood, which the Convention Center calls home.

ML said...

Sweet. Thanks so much for posting Shaw Rez!

Hopefully we'll really see the dirt flying this fall at Mass. and L.

Anonymous said...

According to Bisnow, City Center DC delayed until Q3 2010 or so.