Hammons Hotels to build 15-story hotel, resort in Osage Beach

John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts on Dec. 12 bought 30 acres in Osage Beach for an undisclosed price from St. Louis-area-based Marine Investments LLC. Pat McNally of McNallly Commercial Properties brokered the deal. McNally said he’s been involved with the project for 14 months.

Hammons said his company would build a 320-room, 15-story structure with more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space and a full-service spa.

The property is surrounded on three sides by Lake of the Ozarks and is visible from the well-traveled Grand Glaize Bridge, part of U.S. Highway 54. It is about a mile from Osage Beach Premium Outlets, and road improvements that will start in 2007 should increase traffic flow and accessibility.

“We are bullish about our location,” Hammons said. “We’re bullish about the market.”

Hammons wouldn’t disclose the cost for the Osage Beach project, but he compared its style to Branson’s Chateau on the Lake. The daily newspaper Lake Sun Leader has reported it would be a $150 million project.

“Of course, it’s more than $6, you know,” he joked.

To help fund the project, Hammons Hotels will seek a tax-increment financing district. The city is in the midst of forming a TIF commission, which could convene in about a month, according to City Administrator Nancy Viselli. She didn’t know how soon the commission would decide on the TIF request.

Viselli said Hammons Hotels hasn’t given any official plans to the city. She said the Hammons Hotels project would be a sales-tax boon for Osage Beach because resorts Tan-Tar-A and Lodge of Four Seasons are outside city limits.

“We’re anxious,” Viselli said. “I think that the city would love to have this hotel in our city limits.”

National Plans

John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts manages 65 hotels in 23 states, with 15,000 guest rooms and 2 million square feet of event space. The company has $300 million invested in seven hotels under construction, with 19 more planned. Hammons Hotels broke ground Dec. 13 on a $58.5 million hotel and conference center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and is pursuing large projects in Norman, Okla., and Wichita, Kan. The company is building a Marriott Renaissance Hotel and Spa in Glendale, Ariz., next door to the new $450 million Arizona Cardinals Stadium.[[In-content Ad]]