Гостиничный комплекс Hyatt Regency в Коралвилле за 40 лет добавил экономике штата 1,1 млрд долларов

CORALVILLE — More than 40 years after setting a goal to develop a convention center — and 20 years after realizing that vision with its Iowa River Landing anchor — community leaders are reporting the Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel and Conference Center has added a cumulative $1.1 billion to the economy. The 288-room hotel and conference center has generated nearly $275 million in cumulative labor income across Johnson County, spurred about $416 million in additional development and infrastructure, and supported an estimated 400 to 700 jobs a year, according to an economic-impact study Think Iowa City commissioned. “The numbers speak for themselves to the significance of this hotel and conference center,” said Josh Schamberger, president of Think Iowa City — the area’s destination marketing organization. “The size of the facility, the placement of the facility, and the proper care and management of the facility have all been key factors in the growth of not only the Iowa River Landing but our community as a whole.” ‘The visioning process’ Today’s thriving 180-acre mixed-use IRL district — boasting more than 330,000 square feet of retail, office, residential and entertainment space — was, in the 1980s, an industrial zone and former power plant site needing remediation. Around that time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency turned its attention to community contamination sites posing public health and environmental risks, and in the 1990s chose Coralville for its Brownfields pilot program — awarding it more than 11 grants over the years. The cleanup involved coordinated efforts from the EPA, the Economic Development Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — and included flood-protection measures proving critical in subsequent years. “The Brownfields program was a major focus of the federal government in the ’90s,” Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth said. “Because of the visioning process we put in place in the ’80s, we were ready when the opportunity presented itself.” Hundreds of millions have been invested in developing the land, with the city taking a unique financing approach under an IRS rule allowing a nonprofit public-benefit corporation to incur tax-exempt debt on behalf of a local government for public gain. The setup allowed Coralville to use hotel revenue — instead of local property tax revenue — to pay off its debt on the conference and meeting center. In designing the district, community collaborators — like the city of Coralville, the University of Iowa, its hospital system, along with private businesses — chose the riverfront as the landing place for the hotel with more than 60,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, an exhibit hall that can pack in 3,000 people, two ballrooms, and an outdoor terrace. The 2006 debut of what started as the Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center anchored the district, followed soon after by the “River Bend” building just west of the hotel — housing Vesta, Konomi, and other businesses and condos, according to Nick Pfeiffer, vice president of public affairs for Think Iowa City. Homewood Suites by Hilton, Backpocket Brewing, and UI Health Care all opened in 2012 — with the 238,000-square-foot Xtream Arena and Greenstate Family Fieldhouse opening in September 2020. Over its nearly six years, the sports and entertainment venue — with 5,100 seats — has hosted nearly 1 million ticketed visitors for state, national and international events. ‘Reposition and renovate’ As owner of the hotel and conference center, Coralville manages the property’s operating revenues and expenses through a “Hotel Enterprise Fund.” In 2021 — with the initial 15-year agreement up for renewal — Coralville opted to “reposition and renovate the property,” tapping Marcus Hotels & Resorts to begin operating the hotel and conference center under a Hyatt Franchise. “The Marcus Hotels & Resorts group that manages the property impressed the city with their reputation and ties to the Hyatt flag,” Pfeiffer said. “There was a strategic benefit as being the first, and so far, only, Hyatt Regency in Iowa.” Since the hotel’s construction, the River Landing district has seen more than $416 million in investment — including more than $267 million in commercial construction and more than $149 million in residential development. Its dozens of businesses’ total sales have surged more than fivefold over the last decade — spiking from $4.8 million in 2016 to $25.3 million in 2025, according to the economic impact report. And it annually draws about 4 million visitors — 55 percent of whom live outside Johnson County and 23 percent of whom traveled from counties more than an hour and a half away. Of the hotel and conference center’s total 300,000 visitors in 2025, nearly 80 percent came from outside Johnson County — including 19,310 from three counties in Illinois: Cook, DuPage and Rock Island. “Hotel and conference center operations, together with off-site spending by an estimated 240,000 out-of-county visitors drawn to the facility, generated nearly $24 million in direct output, supported an estimated 400 jobs, and produced more than $13 million in labor income to local workers across Johnson County in 2025,” the report said. Add in supply chain purchases and household spending by employees, economic activity tied to the facility reached nearly $60 million in total output in 2025, supporting 685 jobs and producing more than $18 million in labor income. “This study displays the results of master planning and public-private partnership at its finest,” Schamberger said. “From a vision in 1983 to Brownfield cleanup in the ‘90s to a creative financing process in the early 2000s — all of Johnson County continues to benefit from this premier destination.”