Detroit’s 1st Cambria Gets Under Way

Groundbreaking of Cambria Hotel Detroit Downtown. Image courtesy of Choice Hotels International

Choice Hotels International Inc. and developer Koucar Management have broken ground on the first Cambria hotel in Detroit. Completion is anticipated for next year.

Cambria Hotel Detroit Downtown will be built on the parking lot of the historic former home of WWJ studios, Detroit’s all-news AM radio station, at 600 W. Lafayette Blvd. Cambria Hotel Detroit Downtown will be two blocks from the TCF Center and a short drive from the headquarters of many car manufacturers such as Ford, GM and Chrysler, as well as the Quicken Loans headquarters.

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“Cambria is expanding in key urban markets across the country, where there is strong consumer demand,” Janis Cannon, senior vice president of upscale brands for Choice Hotels, told Commercial Property Executive. “As such, Michigan’s rich history and ongoing economic growth make it an ideal market for the brand’s continued growth and expansion.”

Cambria Hotel Detroit Downtown. Rendering courtesy of Choice Hotels International

Cannon added that their latest Detroit hotel would appeal to the influx of business professionals and travelers visiting the city. The six-story luxury hotel is slated to include 158 keys, a rooftop bar with pool, a multi-function meeting room, a grand ballroom, a fitness center with spa amenities and an onsite restaurant by Fabio Viviani.

The property underwent an adaptive reuse to be repurposed, but the original plan was to convert the space into condos, according to Detroit Free Press. Eventually, the residential conversion was dropped due to lack of construction financing. Instead, developers Means Group Inc. and Koucar Management stepped in and announced their intention to convert the building into a hotel.

Creating more hotel choices

Cambria Hotel Detroit Downtown will mark the brand’s second location in Michigan, with the first being the 92-key Cambria Hotel Traverse City. The two developers are also working on another Cambria Hotel at 50741 Corporate Drive in Shelby Township, Mich., that will be opening in July 2020.

“We’ve been successful in moving our pipeline into groundbreakings and we work with the industry’s top developers to do so,” Cannon told CPE. “Based on how quickly projects are moving from ground break to opening, we anticipate this being our new normal.”

Outside of Michigan, nine other Cambria hotels opened this year, totaling more than 1,200 keys, including the brand’s first hotel in Houston. According to Cannon, Choice Hotels will also be opening Cambria hotels in Phoenix, Anaheim, Calif., and near the Mall of America in Minnesota by the end of the year. Cannon added that the Cambria hotel brand expected to open 50 hotels in 2019, which they are on track to achieve.