Construction of the Holiday Inn Express and Suites, the third hotel in Marion and its largest to date, is nearing completion, according to the project’s developers.
The 93-unit Holiday Inn Express and Suites in the burgeoning East Town Crossing development at the intersection of Highways 13 and 151, on Marion’s east edge, is expected to open by Thanksgiving weekend, and hopefully in time for the Iowa-Nebraska football game at KInnick Stadium Nov. 29, said Troy Hart, owner of Hart Family Hotels, the new hotel’s developer and eventual operator.
The $15.7 million project was originally supposed to break ground in April 2020 but was delayed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Hart said. Construction finally got underway in September 2023, with 23 investors on board, 13 of whom are local, Mr. Hart said.
“It’s very critical to us that we have local partners on these projects,” Mr. Hart said. “We do have some room for additional investors.”
The four-story hotel will have 63 queen-bed rooms and 29 king-bed rooms. Amenities will include a breakfast area, a swimming pool, a meeting room, fitness center, guest laundry and a business center with on-site computers for guest use.
Developers say the new hotel will see strong demand from visitors to the Prospect Meadows sports complex just to the north, as well as some visitors from nearby Cedar Rapids.
The new hotel will join Marion’s other two hotel properties, the 59-room Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham on Dyer Road and the 88-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott at 2823 Seventh Ave.
The 20-acre East Town Crossing, which began development in 2017, already has seen a number of businesses open, including a Pizza Ranch, Daisy’s Garage restaurant, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Kwik Star, Dupaco Credit Union, Pancheros, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Scooters and a MAC fitness center. Two apartment complexes have been completed to date, with a third under construction.
