Indy Chooses Marriott For New Downtown Hotel

INDIANAPOLIS -- A development committee on Tuesday approved JW Marriott's proposal for a new 25-floor, 1,000-room downtown hotel.

Marriott's proposal was chosen over another offer for a new high-rise hotel at Pan Am Plaza. City and tourism officials previously said a new hotel is needed to accommodate two large groups at one time, in conjunction with the new convention center being built in the city, 6News' Jennifer Carmack reported.

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Indy Chooses Marriott For New Downtown Hotel

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The facility would go up at the southwest corner of Washington and West streets on the west side of downtown, where the Courtyard By Marriott hotel currently stands. The new hotel would be connected to the convention center by skybridges.

The Marriott proposal was chosen over another proposal by Intercontinental Hotels that would have been built at Pan Am Plaza. Committee members said the Marriott proposal appeared to hold the best promise.

"It will mean great things for Indianapolis, because we're going to now have this 400-person sales force that's out there to tell the world that Indianapolis now has all these Marriott hotel rooms downtown attached to our convention center," said Bob Bedell of the Convention and Visitors Association. "

The hotel selection advisory committee also said it felt more confident that Marriott could meet the construction deadline. The project should be completed by 2010. If a deal to construct cannot be reached by the end of the year, alternative plans will again be considered.