Hammons hotel project coming to Olathe

06/18/2008

Hammons hotel project coming to Olathe
KEVIN COLLISON, The Kansas City Star

Hospitality magnate John Q. Hammons is planning an 11-story hotel and conference center in Olathe at the Corporate Ridge development at Kansas 10 near Interstate 435.

Hammons wants to begin construction of a 315-room Embassy Suites Hotel this fall. The $75 million project, which includes 80,000 square feet of meeting space, is expected to be completed by spring 2010.

The developer has built more than 200 hotels nationwide, including several in the Kansas City area.

Landing a full-service hotel and conference center has been a major goal of Olathe leaders. There had been a concerted effort in recent years to recruit that type of facility to the Olathe Gateway, the retail district at 119th Street and Renner Road anchored by Bass Pro Shop.

The Hammons hotel project should satisfy that demand, officials say.

"It's a watershed moment in the history of Olathe," Tim McKee, vice president of economic development at the Olathe Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday. "It's something that we lack we hear about daily from our companies."

Under a development agreement unanimously approved by the Olathe City Council on Tuesday, the project's developers would receive a 100 percent property-tax abatement for 10 years.

The hotel also would keep all the transient guest tax it creates for 20 years. The city would not have any ownership in the project or share liability for any bonds.

"I think this is going to be a wonderful, wonderful, addition to our community," Mayor Michael Copeland said.

The 89-year-old Hammons said he picked Corporate Ridge for his latest hotel project after being impressed by what he saw while he was flying over the area.

"When you get up in the air, it's amazing all the new businesses there," he said.

The 15-acre site is being sold to Hammons and his Springfield, Mo.-based company, John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts by Opus Northwest, the developer of Corporate Ridge. The firm began building Corporate Ridge two years ago, and it's now the location of several commercial buildings totaling 600,000 square feet.

The development started with 110 acres and has added 130 acres.

"This is a great opportunity for the city and this quadrant of Johnson County," said Dave Harrison, Opus Northwest vice president of real estate. "When you look at meeting space and banquet rooms, that's a huge amenity for corporate offices and headquarters."

Among the businesses already at Corporate Ridge are Terracon, Farmers Insurance Group, Intrust Bank, Health Ridge Fitness Center, the National Board for Respiratory Care and Garmin International.

The other area hotels owned by Hammons all are near Kansas City International Airport. They are a 236-room Embassy Suites, a 116-room Homewood Suites by Hilton and a 152-room Residence Inn.

"I'm in the hotel business in a big way," Hammons said. "We're also heavy in the convention business. In the last 21 years, we've built 4 million square feet of meeting space."

The Embassy Suites project will be assisted by property tax abatements already in place at Corporate Ridge and the 6 percent Olathe hotel tax generated solely by the project.

"As one of the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest, Olathe has a long-term vibrancy I can appreciate," Hammons said. "This is a big deal for the area. It's huge."

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