New hotel in town

Marriott plans Town Place Suites across the street from the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

Indian Pueblos Marketing Inc. is moving forward with plans to open a new hotel and restaurant at Avanyu Plaza, near the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. A four-story Marriott Town Place Suites is expected to break ground this fall, and an eatery led by local restaurateur Myra Ghattas will open in November next to the recently opened Laguna Burger, Indian Pueblos Marketing officials said Wednesday.

Construction costs for the 89-room extended stay hotel were not immediately available, but it will be Indian Pueblos’ second foray into the hotel business. Located in Avanyu Plaza across the street from the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center is the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Albuquerque Historic Old Town.

The Marriott, expected to open in fall 2019, will create 75 construction jobs and nearly two dozen hotel jobs once the doors open, according to a news release. Indian Pueblos Marketing, a for-profit development group created to stoke economic development and job opportunities for Native Americans, will hire a management firm called Sun Capital Hotels to run the Marriott, a spokesman said.

Ghattas, owner of Slate Street Cafe, will call her new restaurant Sixty-Six Acres, a tip of the hat to the original allotment provided for the Indian boarding schools on which Avanyu Plaza sits, according to the release. The establishment’s menu will feature “locally and thoughtfully sourced ingredients,” 10-15 local craft beers on tap and craft cocktails using locally distilled spirits.

“I’m very excited to be part of the Avanyu Plaza development, serving the near North Valley neighborhood with great food and 40 new community jobs, and being able to showcase so many amazing local flavors to national and international visitors to the 12th Street Business and Cultural Corridor,” said Ghattas in a prepared statement.

Indian Pueblos Marketing is tasked with redeveloping the 46-acre parcel at 12th and Menaul. Avanyu Plaza began with the first tribally owned freestanding Starbucks in the nation, which opened in 2015, followed by Laguna Burger.

COURTESY OF INDIAN PUEBLOS MARKETING INC. Indian Pueblos Marketing Inc. is moving forward with plans to open a new hotel and restaurant at Avanyu Plaza, near the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Shown here is a rendering of the plaza.

COURTESY OF INDIAN PUEBLO CULTURAL CENTER A rendering shows the planned Marriott Towne Place Suites at Avanyu Plaza. Scheduled to open in fall 2019, the project is expected to create 75 construction jobs and nearly two dozen hotel jobs once the doors open.