FORT WAYNE - Marriott International Inc. has proposed building an 11-story hotel in downtown Fort Wayne that would include 250 rooms and a 4,000-square-foot ballroom.

The hotel proposal is a critical piece of the proposed $125 million Harrison Square project, a public-private development that calls for new shopping, housing and a city-owned baseball stadium downtown.

Greg Leatherman, the city’s deputy director of development, said the hotel proposal initially appears to meet all the criteria the city required. Mayor Graham Richard said he is not sure which Marriott brand the hotel would be. He said it would have to be one of the higher-end hotels, based on the size and amenities.

The 250 rooms are less than the original 300 requested by the city. Leatherman said the developers felt more comfortable with a smaller hotel.

“You have to have an operator who can turn a profit,” he said.

Tax revenues from the hotel would help finance the public portions of the Harrison Square development. Richard said the city hopes to reach an agreement by the end of March.

Source: www.indystar.com

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 24th, 2007 at 3:00 am and is filed under Hotel, Real Estate. Tags: development finance Fort Wayne Greg Leatherman Hotels leather Marriott Marriott International Marriott International Inc. Wayne Hotel . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.