Minneapolis Hotel Scene Booming

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The Minneapolis, Minn., hotel landscape is booming, with more than 1,000 new rooms opening this fall and 1,500 more in the pipeline in other upcoming projects, it was announced last month.

With flags ranging from Radisson Red and Embassy Suites, to the boutique Hewing Hotel, Minneapolis’s hotel offerings cover a range of styles and facilities. Many are connected to the city’s climate-controlled skyway system, and most of the new hotels are within two blocks of the METRO light rail system, providing easy connections from downtown to the airport and a range of attractions.

Projects include the 245-room AC Marriott, on Hennepin Avenue, expected to open Oct. 14; 140-room DoubleTree, on Huron Boulevard SE, under construction and expected to open next April; 110-room Renaissance Depot, on 3^rd Avenue South, opened in July; 290-room Embassy Suites, on South 6^th Street, opened Aug. 25; Federal Plaza Hotel, on South 4^th Street, which has received building permit approval; and 158-room Finnegans Brewtel, on South 8^th Street, under construction and slated to launch in late 2017.

Also on the horizon is a 300-room Four Seasons, at Hennepin and Washington, whose land use application is pending (target: fall 2020); 117-room Hampton Inn, on University Avenue, under construction and expected to open in November; 124-room Hewing Hotel, on Washington Avenue North, under construction and slated to open in November.

A 135-room Holiday Inn Express, on 2^nd Avenue South, has been granted land use approval. The 203-room Hyatt Centric, on South Washington Avenue, has yet to submit a land use application. Land use approval has been granted to two properties, 153-room Moxy Hotel + Apartments (on Washington Avenue South) and 123-room Moxy Hotel (at West Lake Street and Emerson Avenue). A 164-room Radisson Red is under construction and targeting a December opening. The 140-room Thresher Square, on Washington Avenue South, has been granted land use approval and is awaiting a building permit. Six-room Hotel Alma, on Washington Avenue South, is targeting a mid-November launch. The 138-room Stone Arch Hotel, on Washington Avenue South, is in the initial concept phase.