NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Nashville Thursday for new Omni Hotel to be built next to the Music City Center currently under construction downtown.
When complete, the 21-story hotel will connect to both the new convention center and the Country Music Hall of Fame, tying together the area that will be known as the Convention District.
"You'll have the Ryman, the Symphony [Center], the Frist, you'll have this great new convention center, it's incredibly dynamic," Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said. "I'm so grateful to Omni for their belief in Nashville."
The hotel, projected to cost $250 million, will be built using private funds and feature 800 rooms, entertainment space, restaurants and retail venues.
The building will stretch along Korean Veterans Boulevard between 4th and 5th avenues.
The project will be a boost for the local economy.
Once open, the hotel is expected to generate 300 full-time jobs, with 200 of those guaranteed for Davidson County residents.
"It's also going to create hundreds of jobs during the construction phase and hundreds of jobs when it opens," Dean said. "It's also going to create an enormously energetic entertainment area. It's going to transform this city."
The mayor called the new convention center and hotel a testament to music city's strength given the fact the projects were approved during a recession.
"I just believe in this city," he said. "I believe in the core of me Nashville's best days are ahead of us and this is just a clear manifestation of it."
He added, "This is going to be an exciting city to be in n the next five, 10, 15, 25 years and beyond."
Construction is scheduled to be complete in 2013, shortly after the Music City Center opens.
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