EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) – The ground has officially been broken for a 12-story hotel, apartment complex and parking garage in downtown Evansville.
The Evansville Courier & Press reports construction of the 257-room Hilton DoubleTree hotel is expected to cost $71.3 million and is expected to take 18 months to complete. The groundbreaking Monday comes five years after the decaying Executive Inn in downtown Evansville was closed permanently.
Mayor Lloyd Winnecke says the hotel will restore Evansville's convention business.
Regional competition for group meetings has been increasing. Owensboro, Ky., opened a convention center two months ago, and two hotels are being built nearby. Work started last fall on a $15.5 million expansion of the events center at the French Lick Resort.
