Mayor Dennis Williams, members of city council and hospitality executive Canon Patel came together Thursday to break ground on a new hotel in downtown Wilmington.
The new Marriott hotel on North Market Street will be located in a formerly vacant property and will feature an extended-stay model for travelers who come to Wilmington for more than five days at a time. Patel says there is a big market for these extended stays, especially in Wilmington with its strong ties to the business and corporate communities
Mayor Williams says he believes the new hotel will help revitalize the Brandywine Gateway District and restore some of its former buzz.
"You would come up here, vendors would be all along here, stores would be open. And that’s what we want to see again. The way it was when I was a kid," he said.
Councilwoman HanifaShabazz represents the fourth district, where the hotel will be located. She says she’ll work together with the hotel owner, Canon Patel, to offer job opportunities for her constituents.
"First we're going to start with a job fair," said Shabazz. After Patel identifies a group of local workers who are interested in hospitality, "he’s gonna create an internship, where they can work through and do their internship, and hopefully get credits and recognition for working and learning under this brand," she said.
The new hotel is slated to create 35 new jobs, but only some will be entry level positions open to workers with little training.