Other features of the hotel property will include a covered walkway along World Trade Center Avenue to the MBTA Silver Line station and a pedestrian bridge between the hotel lobby and the South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center, which is anticipated to open in early 2018.The transportation center will consist of a 1,550-space parking facility with electric vehicle charging stations, bike share and car share options directly adjacent to the Silver Line station.

The hotel will help fill a glaring shortage of large hotel properties that can accommodate business and convention business in the City of Boston. A report commissioned by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and released in June 2016 reported that the lack of a major “headquarter” hotel that offers convention bookers one location with about 1,000 hotel rooms and considerable meeting space has hurt the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, as well as its sister location the Hynes Convention Center in the Back Bay. Six proposals for the hotel project were submitted to Massport in an RFP last April, and three were selected to move forward in the process. A selection panel reviewed and ranked the proposals and chose Omni's proposal as the approved plan, Massport stated.

The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center features 516,000 square feet of exhibit space, 82 meeting rooms and a 40,000-square-foot ballroom. The smaller Hynes facility boasts 176,480 square feet of exhibit space, 28 meeting rooms, an auditorium with a 4,000-seat capacity and a 24,544-square-foot ballroom.

“Omni is a highly regarded hotel owner and operator in the convention industry. Their Summer Street project across from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center will be a key selling point as we compete to bring events to Boston from around the world,” states David Gibbons, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.

Jim Caldwell, CEO and president of Omni Hotels & Resorts, notes that the firm has deep New England roots with the Dunfey Family as founders of the Omni brand, and its signature Omni Parker House in Boston. “We're going to take our rich history, complemented with an exceptional partner in the New Boston Hospitality Group, and together we will develop one of the pre-eminent multi-use lifestyle/hospitality facilities in the country,” he says.

The project is expected to create 1,100 construction jobs and between 700 to 1,000 permanent jobs once the hotel is in operation.

BOSTON—The city's convention business is getting a much-needed shot in the arm as the Massachusetts Port Authority Board of Directors have green-lighted a proposal for a twin-tower 1,054-room hotel on Summer Street in South Boston.

The Massport Board approved a proposal last week valued at $550 million by Dallas-based Omni Resorts and Hotels and New Boston Hospitality to build the new 800,000-square-foot complex on a two-acre parcel in the city's waterfront district. New Boston Hospitality consists of Boston-based The Davis Companies, Spot On Ventures, Boston Urban Development and 17 local minority investors.

The proposed hotel, which is expected to open in early 2021, will feature a 8,500-square-foot spa and fitness center, an event terrace, elevated pool deck, a restaurant, casual dining, a bar, and 40,000 square feet of retail space. The complex will also include 120,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 25,000-square foot grand ballroom, the largest of any hotel property in Boston.

“The South Boston waterfront is a hub for business travelers and tourists alike. This new hotel will serve visitors while adding to Boston's strong credentials as a premiere destination for the global economy,“ said Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn. “Omni is a national hotel leader with more than 60 hotels across North America and we are looking forward to working with them on this exciting project.”

Other features of the hotel property will include a covered walkway along World Trade Center Avenue to the MBTA Silver Line station and a pedestrian bridge between the hotel lobby and the South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center, which is anticipated to open in early 2018.The transportation center will consist of a 1,550-space parking facility with electric vehicle charging stations, bike share and car share options directly adjacent to the Silver Line station.

The hotel will help fill a glaring shortage of large hotel properties that can accommodate business and convention business in the City of Boston. A report commissioned by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and released in June 2016 reported that the lack of a major “headquarter” hotel that offers convention bookers one location with about 1,000 hotel rooms and considerable meeting space has hurt the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, as well as its sister location the Hynes Convention Center in the Back Bay. Six proposals for the hotel project were submitted to Massport in an RFP last April, and three were selected to move forward in the process. A selection panel reviewed and ranked the proposals and chose Omni's proposal as the approved plan, Massport stated.

The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center features 516,000 square feet of exhibit space, 82 meeting rooms and a 40,000-square-foot ballroom. The smaller Hynes facility boasts 176,480 square feet of exhibit space, 28 meeting rooms, an auditorium with a 4,000-seat capacity and a 24,544-square-foot ballroom.

“Omni is a highly regarded hotel owner and operator in the convention industry. Their Summer Street project across from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center will be a key selling point as we compete to bring events to Boston from around the world,” states David Gibbons, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.

Jim Caldwell, CEO and president of Omni Hotels & Resorts, notes that the firm has deep New England roots with the Dunfey Family as founders of the Omni brand, and its signature Omni Parker House in Boston. “We're going to take our rich history, complemented with an exceptional partner in the New Boston Hospitality Group, and together we will develop one of the pre-eminent multi-use lifestyle/hospitality facilities in the country,” he says.

The project is expected to create 1,100 construction jobs and between 700 to 1,000 permanent jobs once the hotel is in operation.