Extended stay Hilton hotel breaks ground
Oct. 27—An extended stay hotel coming to the city's south side has begun construction.
Project H3 by Hilton is expected to open in mid-2024 at 528 Cartwright Drive. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday with the project's developer Bharat Patel, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Sun Development & Management Corporation; Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore; Isaac Lake, brand leader for Project H3 by Hilton; and Lori Dukes, president and CEO of the Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance.
The 137-room, mid-scale hotel will be one of the first Project H3 hotels built by Hilton in the country, a brand just started five months ago by the hospitality giant.
Geared toward extended stays of 10, 20, 30 or 90 days, the rooms are more like apartments than traditional hotel rooms and come with a fully-equipped kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, two-burner stovetop and more.The hotel will also offer complimentary breakfast, a fitness center and laundry facility.
"This project represents a significant milestone, not just for our team but for the extended-stay hospitality segment as a whole," Patel said in a statement. "Backed by the power of Hilton, we're confident that this brand will set a new standard for long-term accommodations, and we couldn't be happier to plant the brand's first flag in Kokomo."
Lake said Hilton expects the majority of customers will be those visiting Kokomo for project work, insurance claims, traveling nurses, military personnel and those in construction.
Originally announced as a stayAPT hotel, the hotel switched to a new brand by Hilton earlier this year. Once open, it will join two other hotels — Hilton Home2 Suites (also developed by Patel) and a Fairfield Inn. Both of those hotels are expected to open in the first quarter of 2024.
