Tim Mulloy | Calhoun Construction

NOW OPEN: Check out the new downtown Homewood Suites

By Marty Finley
– Reporter, Louisville Business First

Mar 28, 2018, 1:42pm EDT
Updated Mar 28, 2018, 2:56pm

Another downtown Louisville hotel has opened its doors ahead of the Kentucky Derby.

The 133-room Homewood Suites by Hilton Louisville Downtown debuted March 21 at 635 W. Market St., offering another extended-stay downtown option for business and leisure travelers a short walk from the city’s Museum Row.

The eight-story hotel, which stands at 105,000 square feet, is a collaboration between HBGM Partners — a company controlled by Louisville businessman Tim Mulloy and his brothers, Pat and Mark, who own the property — and Louisville real estate development firm Poe Cos.

Indianapolis-based real estate firm REI Real Estate Services also is a partner on the project with the Mulloys and Poe, and White Lodging Services is a partner and manager of the property.

Louisville-based Calhoun Construction Services Inc. was the general contractor, and Atlanta-based PFVS Architecture handled the architectural services. The estimated development cost was $25 million, and it took about 15 months to construct.

Jay Nichols, general manager of the new hotel, gave Louisville Business First a tour of the facility on Tuesday afternoon. He said nightly rates start at $179 during the week and $139 on weekends, and the rates vary based on length of stay. He described the typical stay for a downtown hotel of this type at five to 12 days.

“The longer you stay, the lower the rate gets,” he said.

Nichols said the Homewood Suites brand primarily sees business travelers during the week and families during weekends and on special occasions, such as spring break.

The hotel has a large lounge area with flat-screen televisions, a pool table and a small business center. A dining area offers daily complimentary breakfast and an evening social Monday through Thursday. The evening social, he said, includes a full meal and beverages at no charge to guests.

“The travelers who stay a single night still love it because they get breakfast and dinner,” Nichols said.

Another interesting feature is a heated outdoor terrace connected to the lobby area with fire pits, two gas grills and plenty of lounge seating. Nichols said the terrace is open every day of the year.

“It’s nice to have an outdoor feel in a downtown setting,” he said.

The hotel also has an indoor pool and a 24-hour fitness center.

The remaining seven floors are dedicated to the hotel suites, more than 100 of which have studio layouts. The remaining suites are one-bedroom layouts with either a king-sized bed or double queen beds.

Because it is an extended-stay property, each room has a seating area with a pullout sofa and a full kitchen stocked with pots, pans and utensils for cooking. Local art adorns the rooms.

This is the latest in a slew of hotels that have opened in Louisville of late. Last week, we toured the Tru by Hilton Louisville East in Jeffersontown, and the 30-story Omni Louisville Hotel opened its doors downtown in early March.

Also, the extended-stay Marriott Towneplace Suites Louisville North is tentatively set to open in early April next to the Big Four Bridge in Jeffersonville.

To take a closer look at the new Homewood Suites property, check out the attached slideshow.


Downtown hotel to start construction next week

Nov 2, 2016, 2:21pm EDT

A 133-room Homewood Suites planned in downtown Louisville is set to break ground next week and should open in early 2018, according to one of the project’s developers.

The eight-story, 105,000-square-foot hotel received its building permit from Louisville Metro Government Wednesday. Louisville businessman Tim Mulloy, one of the partners on the project, told me during an interview Wednesday that the general contractor, Louisville-based Calhoun Construction Services Inc., has started mobilizing equipment on the site, a surface parking lot at 631 W. Market St., between Sixth and Seventh streets.

The building permits lists construction costs at $18 million, but Mulloy said total development costs will likely be about $25 million.

The project is a collaboration between HBGM Partners — a company controlled by Mulloy and his brothers, Pat and Mark, that owns the property — and Louisville real estate developer Steve Poe of Poe Cos. Indianapolis-based real estate firm REI Real Estate Services also is a partner on the project with the Mulloys and Poe.

Homewood Suites is an extended-stay hotel brand and should appeal to business travelers and consultants doing longer-term business in the city, Poe previously told me. Unlike a typical hotel, Poe said, the rooms will be studio and one-bedroom suites and a few two-bedroom suites, and they all will have kitchens Planned amenities at this location include an indoor pool, a fitness center and a courtyard with a fire pit and grilling areas.

Homewood Suites is part of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) and has another area location on Hurstbourne Trace in Louisville’s East End.

In addition to the Homewood Suites, Poe, White Lodging and REI have partnered to construct a 15-story, dual-branded hotel development at the northwest corner of First and Main streets.

Mulloy, who is a spokesman for that project, has said the first hotel is a Westin, which would have 220 rooms and would be comparatively traditional. Plans call for a first-floor restaurant, an 8,000-square-foot ballroom with room for 350 people, and a rooftop pool and bar that would overlook Waterfront Park.

The 80-room Moxy hotel would be a little edgier. Moxy is a new Marriott brand, self-described as a “boutique hotel with the social heart of a hostel.”

Mulloy has said that development could start accepting guests in 2019 and will cost about $80 million.

Poe has said that nearly all of his past hotel projects, which include the Louisville Marriott Downtown and the Aloft hotel at the corner of First and Main streets, have been partnerships with REI and White Lodging.

Marty Finley covers economic development, commercial and residential real estate, government and sports business.


Homewood Suites hotel rips up parking lot at Seventh and Market

Bill Weyland isn’t the only one in town digging around in preparation for a new hotel. Tim Mulloy and the Poe Companies have also begun pre-construction work for a new eight-story Homewood Suites hotel on the northeast corner of Seventh Street and Market Street. Thanks to a tipster for alerting us to the activity.

We spoke with Tim Mulloy about the activity on the corner and he told us that while construction hasn’t yet begun, crews from LG&E are on site installing utility vaults.

 

“I’m actually walking back from that site right now,” Mulloy told Broken Sidewalk yesterday. “They just started digging Tuesday.” He said the vault is an important step before general construction can begin.

Work on the vault is expected to take around eight to nine weeks. “Our construction timeline has always been to start in late October or early November,” Mulloy added. If all goes according to plan, Mulloy said the hotel could be open by February 2018.