A team of developers has been picked to build a 1,000 room hotel to serve Nashville's proposed downtown Convention Center.
Metro's Development and Housing Agency picked the companies Tuesday to develop the $300 million hotel. The hotel has been planned for just south of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
"It's a big building. There's no doubt about it," said architect Gordon Beckman. "The tower itself becomes a symbol - becomes a marker, an icon if you will for the city of Nashville and an icon for the convention center district."
The companies chosen are Phelps Development out of Colorado and Portman Holdings based in Atlanta.
So far, there has been no decision on what brand would operate the hotel, or how its construction will be funded.
"We think there should be an extra $600 million - $700 million a year in visitor spending. We know it will drive new development, but most importantly it lets us feed our existing infrastructure," said Butch Spyridon, Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Architects said the proposed 40 story hotel and 1.2 million square foot convention center would stand out and at the same time fit in with Downtown Nashville.
"It's got a great entertainment component. All of which meeting planners look for in choosing successful meeting destinations," said developer Roger Zampell.
Developers are searching for a hotel vendor to operate the property and finalizing their design work.
Metro Housing and Development is starting to buy up land for the convention center. The goal is to open the new hotel and convention center at the same time - the first part of 2013.
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