$25 million hotel, conference center coming to Plainfield

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

PLAINFIELD -- The Hendricks County Tourism Commission, in partnership with Sun Companies, recently announced a multi-million-dollar agreement that will bring an Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center to Plainfield's Interstate 70 interchange.

The project will be developed on land owned by the Tourism Commission at the intersection of Perry and Clarks Creek roads. The commission has owned parcels with the intent to incentivize a hotel and conference center development since 2005, and this project will utilize more than eight acres of that Plainfield property.

"The commission's objective since we purchased the land over 10 years ago was to attract a project of this scope," said Jaime Bohler Smith, executive director of Visit Hendricks County. "We couldn't be more pleased with this agreement and its significance to the future of tourism in this county as it will be a major destination driver to our community."

The 175-room Embassy Suites hotel will have a minimum of 5,000 square feet of meeting space within the hotel, and another 20,000 square feet of conference space attached as well as a full-service restaurant and numerous other amenities. The project will employ nearly 50 people, and have an annual payroll of nearly $1.5 million.

Construction is anticipated to begin no later than October 2016, with completion scheduled for 2018.

The Hendricks County Council has approved a preliminary resolution to set the deal in motion by offering a $6 million bond supported by the county's innkeeper's tax.

The local eight percent innkeeper's tax is paid by visitors when they rent an overnight room in the county, and the funds currently support the operations of Visit Hendricks County, as well as county park developments and the county fairgrounds.

Once operations begin in 2018, the hotel and conference center is expected to generate $6 million in room revenue and an additional $480,000 in innkeeper's tax annually.

"I-70 and Indiana 267 is the western gateway for Indy Metro, and since the relocation of the Indianapolis International Airport terminals, the interchange has become the primary lodging cluster for the airport but lacks an upscale, full-service hotel with sizable banquet facilities," Bharat Patel, chairman of Sun Companies, said. "This project will fulfill all of that by providing a facility with a quality restaurant, conference space and more."

In addition to the request from the county, officials in the Town of Plainfield are considering a request for a partial tax abatement of the hotel and conference center project over 10 years.

"Our statistics and recent feasibility studies show that we need full-service lodging and attached meeting space to meet the growing demand of business travelers, especially with our proximity to the Indianapolis airport," Smith said. "We are bringing in a new property tier, that we do not have anywhere in Hendricks County. This project will elevate all the properties, and make the destination sustainable over a longer period of time while further enhancing that interchange as a hospitality gateway here on the west side of the city."

Sun Companies, headquartered in Indianapolis, owns 32 hotels in 12 states, including four Embassy Suites and has five hotels under development in New Jersey, Oklahoma and Kansas as well as a full-service hotel in Noblesville.

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