Indianapolis-based Sun Development and Management Corporation has selected Noblesville as the spot to build their next full-service hotel.
“The Interstate 69 Northeast corridor, while it has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 10 years, is the only one that lacks a full-service conference center hotel. Noblesville and Northeast Indianapolis is an ideal location to fill this void given this tremendous growth and anticipated future growth of the metro area,” Sun cofounder/CEO Bharat Patel said.
On Tuesday, October 13, the Noblesville Common Council approved the preliminary resolution for Embassy Suites by Hilton, a 187,700-square-foot hotel with 198 suites, 20,000 square feet of conference space and 5,000 square feet of meeting space at the southwest intersection of Tegler Drive and Olio Road.
“The northeast corridor of Noblesville is ever expanding and is setting a higher standard of businesses interested in coming to our city. Embassy Suites will provide Noblesville with the size and stature as one of the premiere hotels in Hamilton County,” Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear said.
The development is 15.04 total acres and will be divided into seven lots, including a 1.5-acre retention pond. The seven- to eight-floor hotel, conference center and 367-space parking is on 6.26 acres. Of the five out lots, three are planned to be marketed and sold to restaurants. Total capital investment for the land, hotel and conference center will be approximately $30 million. The project will create 70 full time and 15 to 25 part-time jobs.
As part of the resolution, Sun Development will receive an economic development incentive compared favorably to other businesses in nearby Saxony Business Park like Pharmakon Pharmaceuticals, Zevacor Molecular and Helmer Scientific because of the large capital investment.
“This will be a catalyst project for Exit 210 and another opportunity to create jobs and additional economic development for the City of Noblesville,” said Ditslear. “The high-end hotel and conference center will be a major draw for out-of-town visitors, business guests in the high-tech business parks and tourists to Hamilton Town Center.”
Embassy Suites would become the largest hotel with conference space and one of the largest meeting venues in Hamilton County.
“Noblesville Embassy Suites and Conference Center will positively effect and create economic activity that will ripple throughout not only our community but the whole central Indiana region. Additional revenue will be spent on other hotels, restaurants, shopping and tourist attractions,” Noblesville Economic Development Director Judi Johnson said.
According to Hamilton County Tourism, Noblesville has a total of 50,660 square feet of meeting space in 16 venues. The largest space available is the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds Exhibition Center with 16,000 square feet (excluding Klipsch Music Center’s rentable amphitheater space). Without the 4-H Exhibition Center, the average square feet per space in Noblesville’s gathering facilities is 2,310 square feet.
“We’ve known for some time that Noblesville residents have wanted a large conference center for special events. With Embassy Suites we are creating a major community asset that is not in the city currently,” said Ditslear. “We are creating a local option with large meeting space for businesses, groups and events that otherwise would have to travel to downtown Indianapolis. Its location provides easy access and plenty of amenities surrounding it.”
Hamilton County Tourism said 2015 is a record year for hotel stays as demand is up 2.8 percent. This has caused some challenges this year as hotel rooms were sold out, and many would-be Hamilton County guests lodged in Indy or other surrounding counties. Also, Smith Travel Research predicts the average daily hotel rate to be up 4 to 6 percent for the final four months of the year.
“Our challenge this summer was finding enough hotel rooms for visitors, as hotels frequently were at capacity, especially weekends” said Brenda Myers, Hamilton County Tourism president. “Stats show we need additional rooms to meet the growing demand, especially as our sports sector continues to grow.”
Patel said construction could begin as early as the spring of 2016 and would last approximately 18 months.
About Sun Development and Management Corporation: Sun Development owns 32 hotels in 12 states including four Embassy Suites and has six hotels under development in New Jersey, Oklahoma and Kansas as well as full service hotel at Indianapolis International Airport. CEO Bharat Patel received the 2008 and 2010 Hilton Hotels Developer of the Year for the Embassy Suites Brand and 2009 Hilton Hotels Family Developer of the Year.
