HANOVER TWP., LEHIGH COUNTY, Pa. – Lehigh Valley International Airport is on track to get a new hotel, after its Board of Governors voted 8-5 Tuesday to adopt terms for the project.
- The Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority Board of Governors adopted terms for a 125-room, 4-story Marriot Courtyard on the grounds of Lehigh Valley International Airport
- The hotel would be owned by a nonprofit developer in the short term, and lease the land it sits on from the airport authority
- After the project is paid off, ownership of the hotel reverts to the airport authority
The plan calls for a four-story, 125-room Marriott Courtyard on airport property, with rooms selling for $118 per night on average. A bond to pay for the project would be issued by the Lehigh County Industrial Development Authority, funded through a private deal with Preston Hollow Capital.
Members of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority have been pushing to build a hotel near LVIA since 2018.
“We actually had a pretty good deal, just about 95% in place,” said Darren Betters, director of Business Development for the authority. “And then a little thing called COVID came along and totally killed that deal.”
With terms approved, developers can begin work on designing the building and getting necessary approvals from local government to eventually start construction.
“The developer wants to get moving forward on your design and permitting, and they have to start investing some real money in the project”Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority Business Development Director Darren Betters
“The developer wants to get moving forward on your design and permitting, and they have to start investing some real money in the project,” Betters said in a committee meeting last month.
Most of the conditions adopted Tuesday are not binding, but if the project is canceled without cause, the airport authority would owe developers up to $200,000 to cover pre-construction design and permitting costs.
To comply with regulations from the Federal Aviation Administration, the airport authority is employing a complicated system whereby a nonprofit developer, Provident Resources Group, will own the hotel itself, and lease the ground it sits on from the Airport Authority.
Once the project is paid off – current projections cited by members of the board say it will take about 40 years – ownership of the hotel reverts to the airport authority.
Last week’s term sheet will guide further negotiations to develop a lease agreement with Provident Resources, set to go before the board of governors for approval later this year.
The airport authority tapped Colliers for the building’s design and engineering, and Allentown-based Boyle for construction. Another company, Crestline, of Fairfax, Va., will operate the hotel.
The airport authority would maintain some control over hotel operations through seats on a management committee that oversees everyday operations and an advisory committee responsible for longer-term strategy.
