By Nick Gilbert
A ground breaking ceremony has been conducted for a $37 million Westin hotel at the Wilmington Riverfront. This 10-story hotel is the first full-service facility of Wilmington in nearly two decades.
The LEED certified hotel linked to the Chase Center spanning 87,000 sq. ft. on the Riverfront will have 180 rooms and amenities such as a fitness center, a meeting space, a full-service restaurant and bar, and a law center. The Buccini/Pollin Group (BPG) is the developer of the facility.
Once concluded, the Westin Wilmington is estimated to make state and city tax revenues of $3.9 million during the first three years and will create 123 jobs. The facility is slated for opening in the beginning of 2014. It is being constructed using private funds. The Riverfront Development (RDC) board granted approval to sell a 0.75-acre site to BPG for $3 million for the hotel and sanctioned a loan guarantee worth $3 million to the corporation backed by a loan on the Chase Center. The City of Wilmington also granted a loan guarantee valued at $1 million for the project.
BPG affiliate, Pollin Miller Hospitality Strategies will manage the hotel. The ground breaking ceremony comes on the heels of RDC’s announcement on proposals for the Penn Cinema movie, the hotel, and IMAX theater complex, which started construction in June 2012. The two projects will create 200 construction jobs in the Riverfront region.
Source: http://www.riverfrontwilm.com