Looks like the Vib Tempe is starting construction. Glad to see another empty lot near the city core getting filled!
https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/...d3PT0ifQ%3D%3D
Phoenix-based Best Western Hotels and Resorts has started construction on a new $20 million upscale hotel in Tempe.
The 102-room property will be part of Best Western’s new Vib brand of hotels. Vib is Best Western’s take on a boutique hotel, focused on a higher-end and more niche customer. The branding was designed to be stylish but accessible for both business and leisure travelers, according to the hotel company. Each hotel also can be customized to represent the community where it is built.
There are only three Vib hotels open right now – in Springfield, Missouri; Bangkok, Thailand and Antalya, Turkey – but there are 16 more in development around the world. The Vib Tempe will serve as Best Western’s corporate hotel.
The Vib Tempe hotel is being built on a formerly vacant lot at 511 S. Farmer Ave., just outside of downtown Tempe. Best Western purchased the 1.26-acre property in December 2019 for $3.7 million, according to Maricopa County records.
The five-story hotel will have a lobby with multiple seating areas and workspaces, a lobby bar with craft cocktails, a rooftop lounge, state-of-the-art fitness center, outdoor pool and a multifunctional meeting space.
Phoenix-based GCON Inc. has been brought on as general contractor for the project. Construction has already started and the hotel is expected to open in September 2021.
“The modern, urban feel of the Vīb hotel suits Tempe’s style,” Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said in a statement. “The fall 2021 opening date positions Best Western Hotels & Resorts well for next year’s peak tourism season. We look forward to the grand opening.”
Launching an expensive construction project at this time shows that Best Western, a company that usually doesn’t build hotels but rather licenses its branding to developers, has confidence that the hospitality and tourism industry will be bouncing back sooner rather than later.
The hotel industry has been one of the hardest hit economically by the Covid-19 pandemic, with thousands of hospitality employees laid off and furloughed across the Valley this year. Other hotel construction projects in the Valley have been put on hold because of the slowdown of the tourism industry. Best Western’s confidence could push others to start investing again.
“The hospitality industry has been stifled as hotels across the nation struggle to survive through the Covid-19 pandemic and development comes to a halt for many hoteliers,” said David Kong, Best Western’s president and CEO, in statement. “The groundbreaking of Vib Tempe provides a beacon of hope for the hospitality industry both in the state and across the country.”