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Lakeville will join the growing list of cities hosting a JR Hospitality hotel. The Eagan, MN-based company is about to begin work on a new Hampton Inn on the city’s southwest edge just off Exit 81 on Interstate 35.
Plans call for a four-story, 117-room Hampton at a vacant 3.2-acre parcel at 20851 Keokuk Ave. The hotel will sit in a mostly undeveloped office and retail area, directly south of an Allina Clinic.
The hotel will be less than 10 minutes from Airlake Airport and a burgeoning industrial area nearby, and 20 minutes from two private colleges, St. Olaf and Carleton. The schools have a collective population of about 7,000 students during the school year and draw thousands of alumni and family members during special events like graduation and homecoming week.
Documents on file with the city of Lakeville show that the hotel has been under discussion since at least fall of last year. The site only recently changed hands, however, with an entity tied to JR Hospitality paying$800,000 cash for the site in a deal that closed March 30.
Managing Partner Jay Bhakta said his company must finalize its building permit and has not yet selected a general contractor. Construction will begin in the next 60 to 90 days and wrap up in about a year.
For the last several years, JR Hospitality has been selling off old assets, so its operating portfolio is rather lean. JR Hospitality now operates just two hotels in Bloomington, a Quality Inn & Suites and a Guest House Inn, which is being converted into a Courtyard by Marriott.
JR Hospitality is on a building spree, however. Bhakta said the company has 17 hotel projects either under contract, in design or under construction and is currently negotiating contracts for seven more.
Hampton Inn is a new banner for JR Hospitality, though it is not for Hawkeye Hotels, its Coralville, IA-based partner. The company’s other brands include Cambria, Home2 Suites, Tru by Hilton, Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Fairfield Inn & Suites, SpringHill Suites, and Hyatt House.
