What's Going Down(town)

Hotel hit by credit crunch
Harrison Square hotel’s builder is in talks with third would-be lender; still no timetable for loan.
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“Although officials with Merrillville-based White Lodging Services say they still hope to begin construction on the 250-room Courtyard by Marriott this year, President and CEO for Investments Deno Yiankes said Friday the company is negotiating with its third would-be lender and that a loan agreement could still be at least months away.”

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“The fact that talks are under way with a regional lender instead of harder-hit national banks is reason for optimism about the Fort Wayne project, Yiankes said. “We’re committed to getting this done, and I say that with a straight face,” he said.

Such optimism is being challenged at the Grand Wayne Convention Center, however, which still hopes to host as many as 1,500 guests in 2010 for the statewide meeting of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, an event expected to pump more than $1 million into the local economy. If the hotel isn’t ready, the convention is likely to go elsewhere.

“We’re still working with them. We never established a drop-dead date (for when groundbreaking has to happen for the hotel to be ready for the convention), maybe because we didn’t think we needed one,” said Grand Wayne Assistant Manager Garry Wasson.”