The District plans to use $206 million in public funds for a long-anticipated 1,167-room Marriott Marquis hotel across from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
D.C. Council members on Tuesday approved the project, which, including financing, will cost the District $272 million. If Mayor Adrian Fenty signs the bill, as expected, construction on the hotel could begin in the fall. About $2 million would be used for a worker training program.
Tourism officials argue that the $537 million hotel is crucial to Washington’s ability to attract major conventions. The hotel would be jointly financed between the city and its development partners, Quadrangle Development Corp. and Capstone Development LLC.
The developers would provide $331 million on top of the District and Washington Convention Center Authority’s approved $208 million, including $2 million to start an apprenticeship program aimed at training D.C. workers for the construction.
“We went from a 100 percent publicly financed hotel to a deal that requires the developer to fund the majority of the costs,” Councilman Kwame Brown, D-at large, said. “While it is not the ideal result, in these tough economic times, we can now look forward to revitalizing the Shaw neighborhood and putting District residents to work.”
