Marriott alone has three projects in various stages including a 255-room Renaissance by Marriott oriented to the luxury and business traveler market that is being built on Block E, the big retail-entertainment complex on Hennepin between Sixth and Seventh streets. Also, as part of the Milwaukee Road Depot renovation project being done by St. Paul-based CSM, there are plans for a 225-room Marriott Courtyard and a 134-room Marriott Residence Inn.

The Wirth Cos. recently completed a $30-million project to transform the former Minneapolis Athletic Club at 615 Second Ave. S. into the Minneapolis Grand Hotel, a 140-room hotel geared toward the business and luxury traveler. Nearby Crowne Plaza Northstar Hotel is undergoing an extensive renovation.

"Some other hotel projects are being openly discussed," says Sam Grabarski, head of the Minneapolis Downtown Council.

What Downtown really needs, he says, is a new 1,000-room convention hotel, especially given the expansion of the Minneapolis Convention Center. The hotel market in the Downtown Minneapolis sawoccupancy rates go up a bit, hitting 71.6% through November compared with 70.7% in thesame period of 1999, according to a new report from PKF Consulting, an Atlanta-based firm that follows the hotel industry. Average rooms rates were up 6.3% in the Downtown Minneapolis market to $103.65a night.

In Downtown St. Paul, a new Science Museum and Xcel Energy Center, as well as the temporary shutdown of the Holiday Inn near the Xcel Energy Center, has resulted in a remarkable improvement in the ability of Downtown St. Paul to fill its rooms. Occupancy has gone up to 68.6% for the first 11 months this year, up from 64.9% for the comparable period in 1999. Room rates have gone up 7.8% to $97.05 a night, the largest increase of the four submarkets in the Twin Cities, according to PKF.

While there are no new hotels going up at this time, there have been some major renovations.For instance, the former Days Inn is undergoing a major renovation right across the street from the new Xcel Energy Center, the arena that is the home to the Minnesota Wild professional hockey team. The owners, Ken Golder and a silent partner, are spending nearly $8 million to renovate the 197-room hotel, which is now a Holiday Inn. A $9-million renovation, much of it spent on refurbishing the lobby, was recently completed at the 475-room Radisson Riverfront Hotel, which is owned by the St. Paul Port Authority. Meanwhile, developers are looking at building a hotel near the new Xcel Energy Center.

Instant Insights /

Convention Center Expansions Spur Downtown Hotel Development in Twin Cities

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