By Cory Schouten, IBJ staff
The city is down to two options in its quest for a new headquarters convention hotel. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has dropped out of the competition. The White Plains, N.Y., company proposed adding two wings at the Westin Indianapolis.
The remaining options are for a 44-story hotel tower on Pan Am Plaza or a sprawling complex of hotels on land near Victory Field that's home to a dated Courtyard by Marriott.
The city is expected to offer rich incentives for the addition of 1,000 new hotel rooms to coincide with the opening of a $275-million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center in 2008.
A committee appointed by the mayor to select the best hotel option will now meet with the two remaining development teams, city spokesman Justin Ohlemiller told IBJ this morning.
The remaining development hopefuls are a partnership of Merrillville-based White Lodging Services Corp. and Indianapolis-based REI Real Estate Services, and a partnership of Indianapolis-based Browning Investments Inc. and Milwaukee-based hotelier Marcus Corp.
White and REI are asking the city to invest $45 million to $55 million in a $250 million campus of five hotels with 1,500 rooms, including an 800-room JW Marriott and a 180-room Renaissance Hotel topped with luxury condos.
Browning and Marcus want to build a $249-million, 44-story InterContinental Hotel tower on Pan Am Plaza. The red granite-and-glass tower would include 1,015 rooms, 72 condos, two restaurants and a 36,000-square-foot ballroom.
The Westin proposal had been considered an unlikely choice from the beginning, since it didn't offer the same amenities as the others.