WASHINGTON, DC—Hoffman-Madison Waterfront, the master developer of The Wharf, has secured a commitment from Hilton Worldwide and Hyatt Hotels Corp. to open a 413-key dual-branded hotel at its $2 billion mixed-use project on the Southwest Waterfront.

Hoffman-Madison is developing the structure for about $160 million, Monty Hoffman of Hoffman-Madison tells GlobeSt.com.

The hotel will be a combination of two brands by the hotel companies. One is the Canopy by Hilton, a 120,000-square-foot lifestyle hotel, which will have 175 keys. The second is Hyatt House, a 145,000-square-foot extended-stay hotel, which will have 238 keys. It will all total up to 300,000 square feet, including the ground-floor retail and shared space.

The hotels will be located between Maine Ave. and Wharf St., adjacent to 7th Street Park, with a delivery date of Fall 2017. Both hotels will be managed and operated by Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company and are being designed by SmithGroup JJR.

These two hotels will be located close to the third -- or rather, first -- hotel that sign onto The Wharf. At the start of the year, the InterContinental Hotels Group and Carr City Centers announced they would locate a 278-room hotel at the project. IHG, Carr and Clark Enterprises partnered together to form a joint venture with Hoffman-Madison Waterfront to develop and own the InterContinental.

Unlike the Hyatt and the Hilton brands, the new InterContinental hotel will cater to business and leisure travelers that want a luxury guest experience.

With these three deals in place, the project is turning its attention to other uses and developments -- it has met all of the the demand points for hotels, Hoffman said.

"It was important for us to have three separate hotels with three distinct hotels and three search engines, which is why we went with three separate brands," he says.

"We expect The Wharf to handle 18 million visits annually. But everything is being designed for locals because we believe the authenticity will draw in tourists."

Whether a hotel would be added in phase 2 remains to be seen, Hoffman adds. "The market is my master in these decisions."

This deal follows news in July that the project secured its first office tenant, the American Psychiatric Association, for 65,000 square feet.

The company is also in talks with a "larger group" that, if they come to fruition, could lead to the start of Phase II of the project, Hoffman said at the time. The lease would be for 500,000 square feet.

Those talks are still ongoing, he said on Thursday.

Instant Insights /

The Wharf Secures $160M Dual-Branded Hotel

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