PORTAGE, Mich.
By Tom Haroldson, Courtesy of MLive
Construction begins Wednesday on a new Courtyard by Marriott hotel that is part of a multi-million-dollar Portage development project along I-94 near South Westnedge Avenue.
The Trade Centre development, 10 years in the making, won final conceptual plan approval from the Portage City Council Tuesday night, paving the way for groundbreaking of the 90-room, four-story Courtyard by Marriott hotel, the first of six buildings on the 20-acre site.
The more than $12 million Trade Centre development calls for two four-story, 50,000-60,000 square foot hotels; a four-story, 110,000 square foot office building; and three 5,000-12,000 square foot restaurants along Trade Centre Way facing I-94.
As proposed by H & G L.L.C. which is owned by noted area developers Roger Hinman and Joseph Gesmundo, the Trade Centre development will add hundreds of jobs to the area.
“We had this vision 10 years ago for our two companies and this city to make this gateway to the community as good as we could make it,” Gesmundo said. “We are halfway through the process. We couldn’t be prouder of the relationship with the city and the incredibly hard work of our staff and the city staff to make this work.”
The 90-room, four-story Courtyard by Marriott will be built by TMI Hospitality, based in Fargo, N.D. TMI Hospitality owns and operates nearly 200 hotels in 24 states, including 10 in Michigan. The company will own the hotel site, but Hinman and Gesmundo maintain ownership and control of the remainder of the Trade Centre development.
