Indy Marriott workers reach milestone

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - You can't tell from just looking at it, but Wednesday, workers hit a milestone at the construction site of the J.W. Marriott-Indianapolis complex. The $425 million dollar building will sit on more than seven acres along Washington and West streets downtown.

You can see parts of the huge convention hotel complex peeking above ground. But it's below ground where most of the action is right now. Construction crews have finished pouring concrete on the lowest levels of the project. It is an important milestone as the project moves toward its deadlines.

Since ground was broken on May 29, 2008, crews have dug a 40-foot hole over a six-acre area, taking 40,000 truck loads of dirt out of the site.

Cory Chambers is the director of sales and marketing for the JW Marriott. He said the recession has slowed decision-makers’ commitments to future conventions. But he said there is still plenty of business already booked.

"There's nothing like it anywhere in the world. We have 1,626 rooms, four different hotels, which gives you four different price points. You have variety and it's all on one city block," said Chambers. "Currently we have well over 125,000 rooms on the books for the complex, for all four hotels. That translates to more than $20 million in revenue for the city.”

The three smaller hotels are set to open in 2010, in time for the NCAA Final Four.

The J.W. Marriott will be done in 2011, in time for the 2012 Super Bowl. Nearly all the rooms are booked by the NFL, for Super Bowl weekend. But Chambers said there are a few availabilities.