A groundbreaking ceremony for the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel & Conference Center at Interstate 35 and Covell in Edmond was held today, May 26.
Janet Yowell, executive director of the Edmond Economic Development Authority (EEDA), provided opening remarks.
“We are so excited to mark the start of construction of the hotel and conference center,” Yowell said. “This project has been a priority for more than 10 years and we look forward to this next phase.”
The six-story, 158-room hotel and 20,000-square-foot conference center is being developed as a partnership between the City of Edmond and private developers Covell Partners in Development and Covell-35 Development. The City of Edmond is investing in land, construction of the conference center, water, sewer, electric and road improvements. This will enable several hundred acres of commercial development to take place around this project as well as on the southwest and northeast corners of I-35 and Covell.
The one time construction impact of the project is projected to be $37 million. Flintco will handle construction of the project. The expected completion date is December 2017.
Once completed, the hotel and conference center has the potential to create an annual local sales tax revenue impact of $777,000; 78 jobs; and a total annual economic impact of $5.7 million.
Other speakers at the groundbreaking included Edmond City Manager Larry Stevens, Edmond Mayor Charles Lamb, Edmond City Councilmember and EEDA Board Trustee Nick Massey, Covell Partners in Development Principal John Weeman, Partners in Hospitality President Ghaleb Trad and John Wooley with Covell-35 Development.