Rumors of the construction of a Marriott hotel adjacent to the Washington Convention Center have been circulating since the convention center was built in 1998, but budget concerns continuously delayed the project. Two weeks ago, plans were finally confirmed for a 1,150-room hotel on a two-acre site at 9th and L Streets NW, across from the convention center.
The convention center's headquarters hotel will include 100,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space and will comply with the city’s green building standards, which went into effect last March. The hotel will also have 400 parking spaces and a room-block agreement that will allow the convention center to control as much as 80 percent of the rooms for groups.
Marriott and the Bethesda-based RLJ Development originally planned to build a 1,400-room hotel, which would make it the biggest in the district. However, due to rising construction costs, the project was scaled back. Management hopes that the $540 million project will draw more conventions to the city.
Construction is expected to start in two years and be completed by 2011. According to The Washington Post, many local business owners are frustrated with the delays, saying the convention center alone has not been enough to draw the business they had hoped for.
The convention center's headquarters hotel will include 100,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space and will comply with the city’s green building standards, which went into effect last March. The hotel will also have 400 parking spaces and a room-block agreement that will allow the convention center to control as much as 80 percent of the rooms for groups.
Marriott and the Bethesda-based RLJ Development originally planned to build a 1,400-room hotel, which would make it the biggest in the district. However, due to rising construction costs, the project was scaled back. Management hopes that the $540 million project will draw more conventions to the city.
Construction is expected to start in two years and be completed by 2011. According to The Washington Post, many local business owners are frustrated with the delays, saying the convention center alone has not been enough to draw the business they had hoped for.
