Marriott approves of idea to locate in Clear Lake

by Marianne Gasaway

Officials from Marriott have made it official.  They have approved a request from developers to pursue construction of an 85-room hotel in Clear Lake.

Monday night the Clear Lake City Council approved a memorandum of understanding with JSM Investment LLC, a Des Moines developer interested in building a hotel and convention center in the city’s new Courtway Park Development Subdivision located just east of Interstate 35 off of Highway 122.

City Administrator Scott Flory called the memorandum an intermediary step on the way to a development agreement.

JSM Investment submitted a $75,000 franchise application to Mariott International which was reviewed and approved this month, according to Flory.  The City agreed to pay $50,000 of the application fee.

“This memorandum of understanding outlines really what the development agreement ultimately will contain and allows the comfort and peace of mind for the developer to proceed with banking and investors as well as begin site work, civil site work, that needs to be completed yet,” Flory said.

The memorandum states the developer will construct an 85-room Marriott hotel and an approximately 450-person, 6,000 square foot attached event, conference/meeting facility on the property.  Fifteen full-time equivalent and part time employees will be hired within the first year of operation.

Construction, estimated to cost at least $13 million, would begin by June 15, 2020 and be completed by June 30, 2021. The project will be built on Lot 4 in the subdivision, owned by TD Fuel LLC, comprised of Lorri and Todd Hall, of Sheffield, Iowa.