The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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June 2, 2006

High hopes for hotel

Site work to begin Monday

By Dan Linehan

MANKATO — City and private sector leaders put to rest nearly a decade of speculation, delays and failures on the downtown hotel project — and all it took was 10 gold-colored shovels lifting 10 piles of pre-loosened dirt.

City Manager Pat Hentges acknowledged skepticism surrounding the $12 million eight-story Hilton Garden Inn before speaking about how it will “begin to evolve downtown” and help the Midwest Wireless Civic Center realize its potential.

Mayor John Brady called it the “first step in a whole new wave of revitalization for the downtown” during the Friday morning groundbreaking.

Hentges says there’s been talk of a new hotel since the Civic Center was built in 1995, and discussions with developers have been taking place for about five years.

He touted the project while standing at the spot project architect Brian Paulsen later said will be taken by the hotel’s bathrooms. The kitchen will abut the parking ramp and the pool will sit at the corner nearest the intersection.

“Trust me, it fits,” he said.

Other skeptics have worried the hotel won’t be profitable, or at least not enough to justify the $1.6 million in direct city help.

Greg Schjodt, president of Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Regency Hotel Management, was on hand to assure the crowd that this won’t happen. His company will be responsible for managing the hotel’s daily operations and for ensuring profitability.

He said Hilton scrutinizes its hotels to avoid the public relations disaster that a highly visible bankrupt building would bring.

Hentges credited a long line of developers, builders and bankers for the progress. He said that Downtown Hospitality, an investment group, deserves credit for advancing the project.

But that group wasn’t able to secure financing, so a new development team including Met-con Cos. and local developer Curt Fisher took over earlier this year.

Site work is expected to start Monday, Hentges said. The hotel is expected to open next summer.

The city is also using the groundbreaking as a way to build momentum for further downtown revitalization.

The City Council will discuss forming a city center stakeholder task force during this Monday’s work session, to be held at 6 p.m. in the Intergovernmental Center.

The task force will mold redevelopment initiatives, Envision 2020 priorities and other planning documents into its efforts.

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