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’s Innovation
Campus, within walking distance of the new Fuzzy’s 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 WSU’s 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.
“Having 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,” says Bobby Gandu,
director of Admissions and assistant vice president for strategic enrollment management.
“Our out-of-state enrollment has grown by 135% over the last six years, so providing
this important amenity is crucial to our university’s service offerings.”
“We are excited to have a hotel on the campus of Wichita State for several different
reasons,” says Darron Boatright, director of Athletics. “It 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.”
WSU’s innovation partners also stand to benefit from the additional on-campus lodging
options.
“We host numerous business travelers each year, and this provides our guests with
a great deal of convenience,” says John O’Leary, vice president and general manager
of Airbus Americas Engineering, which is located on the Innovation Campus. “It also
allows them the opportunity to fully experience the Innovation Campus, which is important
to Airbus.”
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.
“We are honored to be involved with the ownership group and Wichita State University
to build and operate an upscale Hyatt Place hotel serving visitors to WSU, the Innovation
Campus and surrounding businesses,” says Christopher Heinz. “This is among the first
Hyatt Place hotels to break ground under Hyatt’s newest prototype design, which was
just released this year.”
The hotel project will be privately financed as part of the Braeburn Square retail
development.
The mission of Wichita State University 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 www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.
