The Springfield, Mo.-based developer today announced that he would personally develop and open six upscale luxury hotels in the next 30 months.

Construction has begun on the 250-suite Embassy Suites Nashville in Franklin, Tenn.; the 336-room Renaissance Hotel Telecom Corridor in Richardson, Texas; and the 260-suite Embassy Suites Albuquerque, N.M. All the hotels are expected to open between now and January 2002. 

The Embassy Suites, Nashville will be located in Franklin, Tenn., near major employers Ford Motor Credit, General Motors� Saturn plant and Crescent Resources� 10-building office complex. The 250-suite hotel will feature more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space and will be located near the Franklin Convention Center and Cool Springs Mall.

The anchor of a 27-acre development in the Galatyn Park Urban Center, the Renaissance Telecom Corridor will feature 336 rooms and more than 22,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 12,000- square-foot ballroom. Richardson is the second-largest employment district in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex, with more than 80,000 daytime workers. Land was acquired from Hunt Petroleum Corporation. 

The 260-room Embassy Suites Albuquerque will be located at Interstate 25 and Lomas Avenue, near the University of New Mexico/Hospital district near downtown. The hotel will offer more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space. 

Future sites include a 300-room Renaissance Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which will feature an 80,000-square-foot convention center.  A 300-room Renaissance Hotel is also planned for Frisco, Texas, as well as a 300-unit Embassy Suites hotel scheduled for development near the Charlotte/Lowe�s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. 

Each hotel will be built in Hammons� signature atrium style with rooms that are 15 to 20 percent larger than those in the average hotel; full-service restaurants with an exhibition-style kitchen, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week; complete health and fitness centers; indoor pool, whirlpool and sauna. 

Hammons� most recent opening was the Embassy Suites Lincoln, Nebraska. The 252-suite hotel includes 20,000 square feet of meeting space and is located adjacent to the University of Nebraska and is within minutes of downtown Lincoln and historic Haymarket. 

Each hotel will be managed under contract by John Q. Hammons Hotels, Inc.