Kevin Canfield
Tulsa World Reporter
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The city is negotiating with Matthews Hospitality to build a downtown convention hotel, Tulsa Regional Tourism announced Tuesday.
The Dallas-based developer led the construction of the Omni Convention Center Hotel in Dallas and is currently developing the Broward County Hotel & Convention Center expansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“Adding an anchor hotel to downtown Tulsa will elevate our standing around the world and gets us in the game for even more premiere meetings and events,” Renee McKenney, president of Tulsa Regional Tourism, said in a press release. “Matthews Hospitality is best-in-class, and I am excited to see them continue to work with the city of Tulsa to progress this project even further.”
The city and Tulsa Regional Tourism have been working for more than six years to bring a convention center hotel to downtown. The project was envisioned as far back as 2019 with the publication of the Arena District Master Plan.
The plan then — and now — is to build the hotel on property currently occupied by the Police Courts Building, 600 Civic Center Plaza, which is next door to the Arvest Convention Center and a block from the BOK Center. It would include as many as 650 rooms.
Mike Garcia, president of Matthews Hospitality, said the company was honored to be selected to bring the convention center hotel to life.
“From the start, we are working to shape a vision that reflects Tulsa’s aspirations for this project and the role it will play in the city’s future,” Garcia said.
Nunzio Marc DeSantis Architects will be the design architect for the project with Tulsa-based GH2 Architects serving as the architect of record.
“Matthews Hospitality is a tremendous partner, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them,” said Cara Shimkus Hall, principal of GH2 Architects. “It means so much to be a Tulsa business working on this hotel that will change Tulsa’s landscape on such a profound level, and we cannot wait to get to work.”
Tulsa-based structural and civil engineering firm Wallace Design Creative is also working on the project.
Tulsa Vision Builders, a joint venture between Flintco Construction and Manhattan Construction, will be the general contractor.
Erran Persley, chief economic development officer for the city of Tulsa, said the project’s contribution to the city has already begun.
“The goal was to keep these opportunities in Tulsa, using local partners and businesses as much as possible, and Matthews’s proposal made clear they placed a high value on that,” Persley said.
Matthews Hospitality was one of three finalists selected to submit proposals to the city after it issued requests for qualifications. The others, Hines Interests Limited Partnership and Portman Holdings, either did not submit a proposal or submitted one that did not meet the city’s requirements for the hotel.
The estimated cost of the project is between $350 million and $400 million. The funding details of the public-private project will not be known until the city completes its negotiations with Matthews Hospitality. But the city has indicated that public dollars for the project could come from a mix of on-site sales tax, hotel tax, property tax, parking fees and state tax incentives.
The hotel is expect to open in 2029.
kevin.canfield@tulsaworld.com
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Kevin Canfield
Tulsa World Reporter
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