John Q. Hammons Opens Construction Pipeline With Five New Hotel Projects

SPRINGFIELD, MO? John Hammons announced in January that his company? John Q. Hammons Hotels? will begin construction of five new full-service, upscale hotels in 1999, the first of which is already underway. The announcement is a contradiction to what Hammons, along with several other companies, had said in the fourth quarter of 1998 when he announced the company would complete hotels already in the pipeline but was suspending new development. With the economic climate more stabilized and with capital turning out to be less scarce than was initially feared just a few months ago, Hammons has apparently decided to reinstate development plans for 1999. The Springfield, MO-based Hammons hotel company has broken ground and begun construction on a 255-suite Lincoln, NE Embassy Suites property. Hammons himself announced that other similar projects will begin shortly. According to the company, construction of a 250-suite property in Franklin, TN? to be flagged as the Embassy Suites Nashville? will begin on May 15, while the 330-room Renaissance Hotel Telecom Corridor in Richardson, TX will get underway on June 15. In addition, a 250-suite Embassy Suites Outdoor World on I-85 and Speedway Boulevard will begin construction the same day, June 15, in Concord, NC. In the fall, the company will oversee construction of an Embassy Suites in Albuquerque, NM in October. Hammons said that the hotels would all be built in the company?s signature atrium style with rooms that are 15% to 20% larger than those found in an ?average hotel.? Each will incorporate food and beverage operations in the form of an exhibition-style full-service restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. The hotels will also include complete health and fitness centers, indoor pools, whirlpool and sauna facilities. Each hotel is to be managed by John Q. Hammons Hotels. ?These properties will be among the top-performing hotels in their respective markets due to their superior location, extensive meeting space and upscale brand affiliations,? Hammons said in a prepared statement. Industry sources have told HOTEL BUSINESS? that Hammons is looking to divest itself of several, if not all, of the Holiday Inn properties currently in its portfolio, possibly moving towards a more upscale group of hotels as evidenced by the four new full-service Embassy Suites and one Renaissance hotel currently slated for development in 1999. Hammons could not be reached at press time for comment. The Embassy Suites Lincoln is located near the university of Nebraska-Lincoln campus and is eight blocks from the Nebraska State Capital. This hotel is to have more than 15,000 square- feet of meeting space, two executive boardrooms, a business center, gift shop and retail space available for lease. In addition, two four-bedroom condominiums on the top floor of the hotel will be available for lease. The Embassy Suites Nashville? located in Franklin, TN? will be stand in the vicinity of Ford Motor Credit, Crescent Industries and General Motors? Saturn plant. This hotel will include more than 14,000 square-feet of meeting space and will be located near the Franklin Convention Center. Slated as a central feature of a 27-acre development in the Galatyn Park Urban Center, the Renaissance Telecom Corridor is to feature more than 36,000 square-feet of meeting space which includes a 12,000 square-foot ballroom. According to John Q. Hammons Hotels, Richardson, TX is the second-largest employment district in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex, with more than 80,000 daytime workers. The Embassy Suites Outdoor World/I85 and Speedway Blvd. will be joined to a Bass Pro Outdoor World superstore and the Concord Mills outlet mall, one mile from Charlotte Motor Speedway. The hotel will include more than 16,000 square-feet of meeting space. In Albuquerque, the proposed Embassy Suites will be located at interstate 25 and Lomas Avenue, near the University of New Mexico/Hospital district near downtown. Th