A long-planned hotel north of downtown Grand Rapids will begin construction tomorrow.
Holland-based hotel owner and operator Suburban Inns Inc. said in a statement today that its proposed 246-room Embassy Suites by Hilton project on North Monroe Avenue will begin to take shape in the coming months.
“Embassy Suites is a very unique brand and we’re happy to work with Hilton on this project,” Peter Beukema, Suburban Inns CEO, said in a statement. “The value this hotel offers makes it a destination sought out by not only corporate travelers but also weekend leisure and sport teams as well.”
Located on the east side of Monroe Avenue, across the street from the Grand River, the proposed hotel will include a Big E’s Sports Bar and Grill, as well as an indoor pool, spa and banquet and meeting facilities.
Construction of the hotel is projected to take 18 months with a tentative opening date in the summer of 2019.
Grand Rapids-based Pioneer Construction Co. will serve as general manager for the project.
Speaking to MiBiz last December, Beukema said that a variety of complications with the city of Grand Rapids led to some uncertainty about the future of the project, which was reportedly announced in 2007.
Moreover, convention and visitor sources have said that while they welcome a hotel in the burgeoning Monroe North neighborhood, its size and proximity to downtown make it unlikely to help alone attract larger conventions and conferences to the area.
The proposed Embassy Suites — the first of its kind in West Michigan — is now part of a string of hotels proposed in or near downtown Grand Rapids.
CWD Real Estate Investment Inc. recently presented plans for a hotel component at its proposed mixed-use redevelopment of the building at 50 Monroe Ave. Orion Construction Company Inc. also plans a hotel component for its new-construction, 150 Ottawa Ave. development in the downtown core.
