DC Mayor Fenty breaks ground with Marriott for $520 million convention center hotel project

WASHINGTON (AP) - D.C. officials are breaking ground on a long-delayed convention center hotel with officials from Marriott International Inc.

The $520 million Washington Marriott Marquis Hotel is slated to open in spring 2014. It will have nearly 1,200 rooms and 46 suites and will be one of only four Marriott Marquis properties in the country.
At the groundbreaking Wednesday, Mayor Adrian Fenty said the project would create 1,600 construction jobs and more than 1,000 hotel jobs once it opens.

The D.C. government and the Washington Convention and Sports Authority are covering $206 million of the development price tag.