Hammons plans $72 mil Tennessee development

Construction of the 10-story, 280-suite hotel and adjoining 80,000-square-foot conference center – the first development of its kind in Murfreesboro – is slated to begin early next year. Scheduled for completion in fall 2007, it would be Hammons’ second property in Tennessee.

Hammons would own the hotel and John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts LLC would manage both properties, according to a news release issued today.

The announcement ends nine months of negotiations with the city that ended with Hammons committing to pay $4.3 million toward the $22 million conference center, according to reports in Murfreesboro’s Daily News Journal.

Located in the northeast quadrant of interstates 24 and 840, the development would be adjacent to a 900,000-square-foot planned outdoor lifestyle center called The Avenue. The hotel and conference center land is near Middle Tennessee State University, three airports including Nashville International and several large employers including Nissan, Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, General Mills, State Farm Insurance, Verizon and Whirlpool.

Murfreesboro is the county seat of central Tennessee’s Rutherford County, the fastest growing county in the state.

“Rutherford County has experienced the fastest job growth rate in the country … so Mr. Hammons’ hotel and conference center will help with the increased need for hotel rooms and meeting space,” Murfreesboro Mayor Tommy Bragg said in the release.