291-room hotel will connect directly to MSP Airport’s Lindbergh Terminal via enclosed sky bridge
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world's leading hotel companies, today announces a milestone in the construction of a new InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts property at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. The project, made possible by a partnership led by Graves Hospitality and Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, a Boston-based real estate investment firm, broke ground in October 2016, and the concrete foundation was recently completed. The hotel is on track to open summer of 2018.
Joel Eisemann, Chief Development Officer, The Americas, IHG said: “We are very enthused to be working with Graves Hospitality and Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation on this new-build InterContinental hotel, which will be an outstanding addition to the brand. We look forward to continuing to grow our partnership with Graves, which has a reputation for developing and managing great hotels.”
This will be the second InterContinental Hotels & Resorts property in the Twin Cities, and joins the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront hotel located in downtown Saint Paul.
The InterContinental Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport hotel will connect to Terminal 1-Lindbergh, the airport’s largest and most recently renovated terminal, via a climate-controlled sky bridge to Concourse C – where it will intersect with the A and B Concourses. The hotel will have its own TSA security checkpoint, and the sky bridge will offer guests direct and easy access to their flights. The 12-story building will offer 291 rooms, including nine suites, two restaurants, a penthouse-level observation bar, a signature InterContinental Club Lounge, a business center, a fitness center and a world-class spa. The InterContinental Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport hotel will offer 20,000 square feet of meeting space with a 10,800 square foot ballroom. Located in front of the hotel will be an Art Park designed to provide a visual art experience as cars enter the airport. The hotel has been carefully designed to guarantee ease of access for all guests, whether arriving from the airport via the sky bridge or from the surrounding area via a direct roadway. The hotel will also have its own convenient, dedicated parking.
Benjamin Graves, president and CEO of Graves Hospitality, said: “Based on our experience, we know that the InterContinental brand is the perfect fit for this high-profile airport location. We are excited to establish a new, signature destination with an ultra-luxury flagship property, which will become the crown jewel of our already exceptional MSP Airport.”
The property’s design establishes a strong sense of place, featuring local influences and natural elements. Renderings created by RSP Architects, a Minneapolis-based firm, showcase exterior finishes of stone and wood encasing a visually-evocative glass curtain wall that mimics the water patterns of Minnesota lakes, rivers and waterfalls. Warm woods and local materials like Kasota stone and Cold Spring granite, along with integrated architectural art, create an inviting and unique environment for all guests. Guest rooms, including a presidential penthouse, will be designed with spa-like bathrooms and full, private bars.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP) is located 12 miles from downtown Minneapolis, eight miles from downtown St. Paul, and less than five miles from the Mall of America – the largest shopping complex in North America – with a light rail line that runs directly from the airport to the Mall. MSP offers non-stop service to 155 destinations including 128 domestic and 27 international markets. The airport is in the process of a five-year, multi-phase expansion and improvement plan designed to accommodate the growing numbers of travelers at MSP. Improvements include expanding the size of arrival and departure facilities, constructing a new parking facility, adding four new gates at Terminal 2-Humphrey, adding dozens of new restaurant and retail shops, and the addition of the InterContinental Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport hotel.
In 2016, the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand celebrated its 70th anniversary, and the brand is now twice the size of any competing luxury hotel brand globally. In January 2016, the landmark InterContinental London – The O2 hotel opened, and the InterContinental New York Barclay hotel reopened earlier last year following an extensive renovation. There are four InterContinental Hotels & Resorts properties currently under development in the U.S., in downtown Los Angeles, in the North Embarcadero area of downtown San Diego, in Houston adjacent to the Texas Medical Center, and on the southwest waterfront in Washington, D.C. With 187 hotels open worldwide and more than 60 in the global development pipeline, IHG continues to expand the InterContinental Hotels brand portfolio in the most sought-after destinations around the world.
