As the Minneapolis Big Build website states: "All of these works in progress are coming together in a way that makes our city competitive nationally and internationally, and they will keep Minneapolis an elite city to live, work, play, visit and explore."

This metamorphosis was chronicled most recently in Twin Cities Business in an article entitled Twin Cities Hotel Boom. Be sure to take a look at it.

The article summarizes the continued boom in new and expanded construction along with major renovations in the Minneapolis hotel market. Saint Paul is certainly experiencing its share of development, as well.

It's a common occurrence for major events to spur growth in a community's hotel inventory. Between 2006 and 2008 Minneapolis added approximately 1,200 new rooms leading up to the Republican National Convention. The majority of those properties helped our downtown retain its historic character by repurposing existing structures.

Clearly, major upcoming events like the Super Bowl, X Games and Final Four have gotten the attention of hotel developers and helped to create the current boom. But we've also seen growth in our overall domestic and international leisure visitor count, a very strong convention market and the foundational support of business travel. Downtown residential numbers are growing and businesses are expanding. All of these factors will sustain the most current entries into the market as well as those we know are on the way and perhaps a few new surprises.

A study Meet Minneapolis commissioned in 2013 to evaluated the feasibility of a large hotel near the convention center concluded that a large hotel would benefit the city's convention business but would require a public subsidy to get built. That hotel was predicted to be completely absorbed into the market in five years. That study also predicted that 1,000 new rooms would be developed anyway within that five year period. The reality is that we've exceeded that prediction by a long shot.

The current building boom is not just a cookie-cutter exercise. It includes properties that have transformed unattractive surface parking lots, repurposed historic buildings and introduced innovative new brands never before seen in our market.

The Minneapolis Big Build is certainly fueling the work our industry is doing through Destination Transformation, our tourism master plan. Thanks to all of our public and private sector partners that continue to invest in our city and our industry.

As the Minneapolis Big Build website states: "All of these works in progress are coming together in a way that makes our city competitive nationally and internationally, and they will keep Minneapolis an elite city to live, work, play, visit and explore."

This metamorphosis was chronicled most recently in Twin Cities Business in an article entitled Twin Cities Hotel Boom. Be sure to take a look at it.

The article summarizes the continued boom in new and expanded construction along with major renovations in the Minneapolis hotel market. Saint Paul is certainly experiencing its share of development, as well.

It's a common occurrence for major events to spur growth in a community's hotel inventory. Between 2006 and 2008 Minneapolis added approximately 1,200 new rooms leading up to the Republican National Convention. The majority of those properties helped our downtown retain its historic character by repurposing existing structures.

Clearly, major upcoming events like the Super Bowl, X Games and Final Four have gotten the attention of hotel developers and helped to create the current boom. But we've also seen growth in our overall domestic and international leisure visitor count, a very strong convention market and the foundational support of business travel. Downtown residential numbers are growing and businesses are expanding. All of these factors will sustain the most current entries into the market as well as those we know are on the way and perhaps a few new surprises.

A study Meet Minneapolis commissioned in 2013 to evaluated the feasibility of a large hotel near the convention center concluded that a large hotel would benefit the city's convention business but would require a public subsidy to get built. That hotel was predicted to be completely absorbed into the market in five years. That study also predicted that 1,000 new rooms would be developed anyway within that five year period. The reality is that we've exceeded that prediction by a long shot.

The current building boom is not just a cookie-cutter exercise. It includes properties that have transformed unattractive surface parking lots, repurposed historic buildings and introduced innovative new brands never before seen in our market.

The Minneapolis Big Build is certainly fueling the work our industry is doing through Destination Transformation, our tourism master plan. Thanks to all of our public and private sector partners that continue to invest in our city and our industry.