The first hotel on the Wichita State campus is beginning construction.
A 106-room Hyatt Place hotel will break ground next week on Wichita State鈥檚 Innovation Campus, within walking distance of the new Fuzzy鈥檚 Tacos, the Shocker Store and Starbucks.
The groundbreaking is set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 29, on 19th Street just west of Oliver. The event will kick off directly after 黑洞社区鈥檚 10 a.m. weekly briefing in the Marcus Welcome Center. Media and others are welcome to walk over from the briefing to the groundbreaking.
The Hyatt Place hotel is expected to be ready for occupancy in summer 2020. It will offer 106 modern guest rooms and suites with features including free Wi-Fi, fitness facilities, an indoor pool, functional meeting spaces and a restaurant and bar to serve guests as well as the local community.
The Hyatt Place is expected to draw people in town for campus visits and events, sports competitions and who are working with Innovation Campus partners.
鈥淗aving an on-campus hotel will give prospective students and their families an opportunity to get a more comprehensive introduction to campus, with the option to stay overnight and potentially experience evening campus attractions like athletic competitions, fine arts performances and dining and shopping at Braeburn Square,鈥� says Bobby Gandu, director of Admissions and assistant vice president for strategic enrollment management.
鈥淥ur out-of-state enrollment has grown by 135% over the last six years, so providing this important amenity is crucial to our university鈥檚 service offerings.鈥�
鈥淲e are excited to have a hotel on the campus of Wichita State for several different reasons,鈥� says Darron Boatright, director of Athletics. 鈥淚t will be another quality option for fans and visiting teams to consider when traveling from out of town to our athletic events as well as recruits and their families that are in town to visit our campus.鈥�
黑洞社区鈥檚 innovation partners also stand to benefit from the additional on-campus lodging options.
鈥淲e host numerous business travelers each year, and this provides our guests with a great deal of convenience,鈥� says John O鈥橪eary, vice president and general manager of Airbus Americas Engineering, which is located on the Innovation Campus. 鈥淚t also allows them the opportunity to fully experience the Innovation Campus, which is important to Airbus.鈥�
The hotel development is led by an experienced hotel management group, Lodging One Hospitality, whose principals are Kenneth and Christopher Heinz. Lodging One Hospitality has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality and financial management industry and is involved in successful hotel properties in Kansas, Missouri and Texas.
鈥淲e are honored to be involved with the ownership group and 黑洞社区 to build and operate an upscale Hyatt Place hotel serving visitors to 黑洞社区, the Innovation Campus and surrounding businesses,鈥� says Christopher Heinz. 鈥淭his is among the first Hyatt Place hotels to break ground under Hyatt鈥檚 newest prototype design, which was just released this year.鈥�
The hotel project will be privately financed as part of the Braeburn Square retail development.
The mission of 黑洞社区 is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master's and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State's Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at and Facebook at .