Frew, Kinseth planning new Cedar Rapids hotel at Westdale

CEDAR RAPIDS - Construction is expected to start by the end of this summer on a limited service hotel at Westdale in Cedar Rapids designed to appeal to millennials.

Kinseth Hospitality Companies of North Liberty and Frew Development Group are planning an 82-room multistory hotel at the main entrance to Westdale on Williams Boulevard SW.

Lisa Rowe, vice president of Frew Development Group and Westdale general manager, said some details of the hotel have not been finalized.

'It is a well known national brand, but this will be a new concept for this market,” Rowe said. 'We would estimate that it will open in the summer of 2017.”

Kinseth Hospitality is a hotel management, development and ownership company that operates 70 hotels and nine branded restaurants in 13 states.

'We are excited to collaborate with Frew Development and take part in Westdale's reinvention,” said Bruce Kinseth, senior vice president of Kinseth Hospitality, in a news release. 'The hotel will really compliment all the other new development at Westdale, and we believe this is a great time and place to invest in a new and cutting edge hotel product in Cedar Rapids.”

Frew Development Group of Denver, Colo., is redeveloping Westdale, formerly a 900,000-square-foot mall on 72 acres. The $90 million mixed-use development will be anchored by J.C. Penney, Younkers and Burlington Stores.

'We are honored to partner with Kinseth Hospitality to bring a long-anticipated hotel to the Highway 151 corridor in southwest Cedar Rapids,” said John Frew, president and CEO of Frew Development Group, in a news release. 'The Kinseth organization is widely respected for its hotel development and operating expertise. We are fortunate to welcome them to the Westdale project.”

Construction is progressing rapidly on a 40,400-square-foot building near Younkers that will house Burlington Stores. Rowe said the building must be ready for delivery to Burlington Stores on Aug. 15, with the store projected to open in the fall.