Developer chosen for downtown convention hotel

Mortenson Development, the firm that built Des Moines most iconic skyscraper, will lead the construction of a proposed 450-room convention hotel near the Iowa Events Center.

The Minneapolis-based firm was recommended for the project by the Des Moines Redevelopment Company’s executive committee, local officials announced Friday.

The redevelopment company, a collection of 22 local business leaders, formed in 2012 and bought a plot of land at 700 Fourth St. in an effort to fast-track the development of a four-star hotel and convention center.

The project figures to cost about $120 million and aims to attract more tournaments and conventions to Wells Fargo Arena and the adjoining facilities, local officials have said.

Mortenson’s selection brings the backing of a major construction and real estate firm. The company has 2,500 employees, with projects around the country and overseas. It ranks number 201 on Forbes’ list of America’s largest private companies.

Mortenson has an office in Iowa City and has completed about $1.5 billion worth of construction projects in the state, said Tom Lander, vice president of development. It was the general contractor for 801 Grand, the city’s tallest building. Elsewhere in Iowa, Mortenson’s projects include the Marriott hotel and convention center in Coralville and the 2006 renovation of Kinnick Stadium.

“The thing that makes this project attractive is that it’s tied directly to the event center,” Lander said. “It will support and be supported by the activities at the event center and has a strong tie to the city’s core.”

Construction on the hotel remains nearly two years away. A development concept and financial package is expected to be completed by fall 2014. Design work will follow and construction could begin as early as fall 2015, according to the Greater Des Moines Partnership which is working with the redevelopment company on the project.

Considering the requirement for 450-rooms, the hotel will likely be 12 to 15 floors, Lander said.

A hotel franchise has not yet been selected. Hilton, Marriott and Starwood brands are all possibilities.

Mortenson has worked with each of those companies and will conduct a bidding process for this project.

The lack of an attached convention hotel at the Iowa Events Center is a deal-breaker for many conventions and tournaments considering Des Moines. Tourism officials have their eyes on the 2017-19 NCAA men’s basketball regionals, for which bidding starts next year.

The project comes during a boom in downtown hotel construction. Four hotels are being built with several more on the drawing board.

“We missed out on the limited service hotel building boom of the 1990s,” Glenn Lyons, president and CEO of the Downtown Community Alliance, said earlier this week. “We’re really back-filling demand that has been there for a long time.”

The other developer vying for the project was Dallas-based Garfield Traub.

When asked why Mortenson was selected, Gene Meyer, president of partnership, said this in an email:

“We received excellent applications…Mortenson is an experienced general contractor with 85 completed hotel projects and experience with convention center hotels.”

Officials with the partnership declined to discuss the proposal and said no one from the 22-member redevelopment company was available to comment on the project.

Reported by:  DesMoinesRegister.com