"The new Westin headquarters hotel will secure the success of our world-class convention center," says Mayor Thomas M. Menino. "Together, these two cornerstones of the South Boston waterfront will anchor our tourism industry and further establish the area as a vibrant, 24-hour neighborhood."

The developers of the hotel, being built on South Boston's waterfront, secured the final $120 million in funding they needed to move forward with the project this past February. The hotel was initially supposed to open with the center this year, but the notoriously difficult hotel financing market, coupled with the recent recession, forced the developers to delay its construction.

Carpenter & Co., Inc. is a co-developer of the project along with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and local development partners Stephen Karp, Steven Fischman, Joseph Fallon and Joseph O'Donnell. The financing commitment was provided by the lead lender Scotia Capital, a member of Scotiabank Group with eight participating banks, supplements funds previously committed by the development team, which is called Boston Convention Center Hotel LLC, and Starwood Hotels. It also supplements the recent $15-million loan from the city.