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.