The structure will be located in the southwest area of the city, not so far from the Washington Monument and the Capitol. Republic Properties Corporation is behind the hotel's development, while real estate developer Lano International, Inc. and Armada/Hoffler Construction Company are on board as Mandarin's partners in the deal. As for the financing of this multi-million dollar project, Mandarin will contribute an estimated $19 million, and the remaining funds will come via various other sources of financing including $85 million from syndicated bank facilities of Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale.

Despite the less-than-stellar quarter the hotel industry recently experienced--partially due to a downturn in tourism after the September 11 terrorist attacks--Mandarin officials are hardly squeamish about moving forward with this project. "We've had the plans in place for about two years," Mandarin's Wolfgang Holtner shares with GlobeSt.com. "September 11 has had no impact at all on the plan, except that the city of Washington was even more interested in having the project. Washington is even more of a focal point for the world since September 11."

The current state of the market aside, the hotel organization considers building in the nation's capital an inevitable and sensible move. "It's a given that we should have a project in Washington, DC," Holtner says. "Our building strategy is to build in key cities. We're building hotels in New York and Tokyo, as well, and we're talking to developers in Berlin." Los Angeles is on the list, too. "We're certainly interested in LA but there is nothing concrete yet," he says, adding, "we've been interested in LA for years." Continuing to explain the company's strong interest in Washington, Holtner notes that the city's new convention center had much to do with the decision. "They're building a great convention center," he explains. "That was a major influence for us to go forward with this project, because we'll have major convention facilities. That will set us apart."