One of the most exciting projects underway here in downtown Indianapolis at the moment is the construction of the 4 hotel complex that is anchored by a 1000 room JW Marriott.  This project broke ground in late May and will open in phases with 3 select service properties coming online in the first quarter of 2010 and the JW Marriott tower opening a year later in 2011.  With over 100,000 square feet of meeting space this is a significant addition to the Indianapolis convention package.  

The property has just launched their pre-opening website (www.jwindy.com) and already has a sales staff in place working to book business opportunities into the hotel. 

My favorite part of their website is the webcam that will be snapping a photo every 15 minutes for the next 3 years as the hotels are built.  You can begin to get a feel for the site development as you browse through all their photos from the past 2 months - especially the shots taken during the June 5-11 timeframe when they demolished the 3 story portion of the Courtyard by Marriott that is currently on the project site.  The taller portion of the Courtyard will remain, but will be completely renovated and become a Fairfield Inn & Suites.

Over the past few years we've enjoyed the webcam that allowed us to watch Lucas Oil Stadium climb into our city's skyline and we look forward to doing the same with the JW Marriott version - even if we won't be able to enjoy the camera's perch being as high as it was for the stadium.  This view from the top of the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, however, is one of my favorites during site visits as it is a great vantage point to show off White River State Park.