A full-service hotel that would be located on the inbound roadway to Terminal 1 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP) is one step closer to reality.
Metropolitan Airports Commission staff has recommended Graves Hospitality Corp. as the facility’s developer. Graves’ request for proposals submission beat out competing bids by Morrissey Hospitality Cos. Inc. and M.A. Mortenson Co.
“The MAC’s vision for the hotel, prominently located on the inbound roadway to Terminal 1-Lindbergh, is a visually captivating structure providing exemplary, reliable hospitality services to the MSP airport community,” wrote Eric Johnson, director of commercial management and airline affairs in a memo to the MAC’s Management and Operations Committee. “The hotel’s visual message and personality needs to communicate and complement the spirit and vision of MSP, ‘providing the best airport experience in North America.’”
The MAC required as part of the bid documentation of at least two hotels in the 3- to 4-star/3- to 4-diamond, upscale or upper-upscale category. The Graves 601 Hotel Minneapolis, which Graves Hospitality developed before selling it last year, was recently named one of the 500 Best Hotels in the World by Travel+Leisure Magazine. And, according to the company’s website, it has decades of experience working within major branded hotel groups, such as Radisson, Marriott, ICH – Holiday Inn, Best Western and Le Meridian, along with several independent hotel groups.
The management and operations committee will vote on the recommendation next week.
