Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field has reached a tentative deal with a Conway hospitality development, management and consulting firm to build the first hotel on airport property.
The 88-room hotel would be built under the Hampton Inn & Suites brand on an undeveloped 2.5-acre site at East Roosevelt Road and Grundfest Drive.
The deal, which still needs the approval of the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission, consists of a 40-year lease with one 10-year extension. It requires Conway Management to pay at least $54,500 annually in rent for the 2.5-acre parcel and invest at least $6 million in the project in the first 18 months.
Conway Management, which operates more than a dozen hotels and one restaurant, was the only hotel developer that responded to a 2019 request for proposals issued by the airport. The covid-19 pandemic put all hotel development on the back burner. Until now.
"Business conditions are now at a point where new developments are moving forward," Greg Garner, the airport's business and properties manager, told the commission's lease and consultant selection committee Tuesday.
Umang Patel, Conway Management's firm, also pressed his case before the committee.
The company was founded in 2010. In addition to building and operating hotels, the company also has experience with leased properties. It operates a hotel in Little Rock on property it leases from CHI St. Vincent Infirmary.
"This is our world," Patel said. "It always helps to have a strong anchor, a strong partner. In this case, we have one."
Once the commission approves the deal, possibly as soon its Monday meeting, Conway Management will finalize financing and begin construction early in the second quarter. Construction will take 12 to 14 months, according to Patel.
"Our internal timetable is more aggressive," he said.
The hotel also will include a bar serving food and a conference room. The agreement calls for "pricing to be competitive with that generally charged by similar hotels in the Little Rock area," according to documents presented to the committee.
In response to a question from committee member Patrick Schueck, Patel hedged on providing shuttle service between the airport and hotel.
"We will likely have some type of shuttle service, but the brand doesn't require it," he said.
This marks the second time in almost 10 years that the airport has broached the idea of a hotel on its property.
In 2012, airport officials considered issuing a request for qualifications after an unidentified hotel operator expressed interest in building a hotel on airport grounds. They later suspended the effort after they decided to look at building a hotel as part of a terminal expansion project.
On-property hotels are more common at larger airports, which see them as a way to boost revenue without imposing additional fees on airlines.
There are at least four other hotels in the vicinity of the airport. All are on private property. The newest is a $15.5 million 114-room Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott on Roosevelt Road that opened in 2019.