Dodging rainy weather, local officials and members of the Keller Family Hyatt Group gathered at the Allen Park Community Center for a groundbreaking ceremony for the $30 million Jonesboro Hyatt Place Hotel & Convention Center, which developers plan to open in spring 2018.
Among the speakers were Mayor Harold Perrin, Keller Family Hyatt Group owner Chuck Keller Sr., Hyatt Hotels spokesman Ryan McNamara, and local developers Gary Harpole and Carroll Caldwell.
The multi-phase project will be located on a 42-acre parcel of land known as the Centre Park Complex on Brown's Access Lane near I-555.
The 40,000-SF convention center will accommodate up to 1,500 people. Operators will be able to divide the center into 27 separate breakout rooms for smaller community events, business trainings and weddings.
Developers expect it to create 500 construction jobs and 250 permanent jobs over the next two years. The Keller family cites "conservative" annual revenue projections between $9 million and $12 million.
Keller said the hotel, which would be the tallest building in Jonesboro, will include 147 guest rooms, a rooftop cocktail bar and restaurant. The project's secondary phase will include another hotel as well as several complimentary retailers and restaurants. Keller's son Chris, who has moved to Jonesboro, is project manager.
"We couldn't be more excited to be here or more impressed with the hospitality of the community," Chris Keller said Tuesday. "It really is a dream come true after everyone has worked so hard. We've felt welcome in Jonesboro since day one."
The hotel and convention is modeled after another Keller operation in Effingham, Illinois. Bob Rowe of Pure Architecture Studio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serves as mixed-use development's primary architect, and Jim Little of Little and Associates of Jonesboro will oversee day-to-day project operations including site inspections.
George and Sean Stem of Construction Network Inc. of Jonesboro have been hired as lead contractors for the 18-month construction project.
The project is one of two hotel and convention center developers underway in Jonesboro, a city with a population of more than 71,000.
O'Reilly Hospitality Management of Springfield, Missouri, has a franchise agreement with Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. to build a 202-room Embassy Suites Hotel and a 40,000-SF convention center on the Arkansas State University campus in Jonesboro.
O'Reilly plans to begin construction on the project, located on Red Wolf Boulevard adjacent to the Convocation Center and Centennial Bank Stadium, in the third quarter. Hilton Worldwide, of Tysons Corner, Virginia, owns the Embassy Suites brand.
On March 2, the Jonesboro Advertising & Promotion Commission voted 3-2 to give the Keller project $300,000 over the next three years, along with a hotel tax abatement of up to $200,000 per year during the same time frame. In doing so, it denied a request to give aid to the O'Reilly project, saying it couldn't support both. The commission rejected funding for the O'Reilly project a second time in May.
When asked how the Jonesboro Hyatt Place planned to differentiate itself from the O'Reilly project, Harpole noted the importance of the Keller project's location.
"We're close to I-555 and several other lodging options," he said. "We're at the front door of the Jonesboro community and plan to be good stewards to the A&P Commission.”
Harpole said they're in talks with local industries and trade organizations to host conferences and trainings in 2018, though the space will be open to anyone.
"Northeast Arkansas hasn't had any opportunities to host conventions due to lack of convenience to hotels, restaurants and entertainment," he said. "People end up traveling to the same locations each year. This new center will be as beautiful as facility as any that exists in Arkansas."