Tortured Plan to Build Convention Center Hotel Is Back On Again

• July 7th 2010

by Will Smith

An on-again-off-again plan to build a large Marriott hotel next to the Washington Convention Center now appears to be on again, according to The Washington Post. An agreement between Marriott and developer JBG (yes, the same developer behind the 14th Street condo we just covered) could see construction begin as early as this fall — assuming the deal holds.

Plans announced with great fanfare last August were stalled when JBG sued the city for illegal handling of the development process. The city counter-sued, and the plans hit the skids. This new deal between Marriott and JBG represents a major breakthrough.

The construction of a dedicated convention center hotel is of great interest to the city because the center currently loses business to National Harbor in PG County and other cities due to its inadequate accommodations. National Harbor, for reference, has five hotels to service its convention center.

The relevance of the new hotel deal to residential real estate is what it could mean for the Shaw neighborhood, whose redevelopment was supposed to be catalyzed by the construction of the convention center. While Shaw has improved markedly over the last ten years, the arrival of the convention center was largely a disappointment for the neighborhood. If the hotel is constructed and more business comes to the convention center, which then improves the retail climate on the Shaw streets around it, improvement of the area could accelerate.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/tortured_plan_to_build_convention_center_hotel_is_back_on_again/2241.