Sept. 07–Developer Dan Boyum has a saying: "The hotel industry isn't overbuilt, it's under-demolished."
The Sioux Falls, S.D., hotel developer will apply that spirit to a $26 million project he plans to kick off later this month in Lenexa.
Boyum, vice president of capital markets and development for KWB Hotel Partners, has approvals to build a Holiday Inn Express & Suites and an extended stay Candlewood Suites at the southeast corner of 95th Street and Interstate 35. Both hotels will have 96 rooms.
The project replaces a vacant three-story hotel at the site that has been demolished and cleared.
Boyum said it is his company's first project in the Kansas City area, buoyed by its proximity to a major highway interchange, shopping centers like Oak Park Mall and hospitals like Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
"It has multiple demand generators that checked all the boxes for us," Boyum said. "It's a great location. It just had kind of an eyesore on it."
Last month, the Lenexa City Council approved tax increment financing to assist with some of the project costs. TIF, which redirects new taxes generated by a development to pay for eligible project costs, will account for $11.8 million of the hotel development's $26.2 million costs.
Of that $11.8 million, more than half will pay for private costs — land acquisition, site development and demolition. The rest will pay for public costs associated with the project, including improvements to the I-35 interchange at 95th Street.
Boyum said he expects to begin construction later this month with the project wrapping up in about a year.
Steve Vockrodt: 816-234-4277, @st_vockrodt
