A new $14 million hotel is coming to Altoona, which is just one of many developments booming in the area.
“It’s nice to keep that momentum going,” Altoona Mayor Dean O’Connor said.
Crews have already started moving dirt for the four-story Hyatt Place Hotel at Altoona’s Shoppes at Prairie Crossing, just west of the Outlets of Des Moines.
Construction of the 112-room hotel will begin in April, and if everything goes according to plan, the new Hyatt Place will take its first guests in April 2020.
“We really sell ourselves as the entertainment capital of Iowa,” O’Connor said. “If you pan your camera around and see what’s going on here, the new hotels and the new restaurants, it’s absolutely a place to come to.”
The City Council approved a plan Monday to build a new restaurant called the Burger Shed, which will sit between the new hotel and Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse. The restaurant is set to open May 27.
“The No. 1 thing people always ask about is restaurants,” O’Connor said. “Hotels spur restaurants and other shops.”
The developments are all owned by the Heart of America Group.
Joe Spalding, with Heart of America Group, said Altoona’s commitment to growth sets the city apart.
O’Connor said the developments are proof that the Outlets of Des Moines is a success and that Altoona isn’t finished growing.
“Our tag is ‘Altoona Now,’ and this just shows we are correct. Altoona is happening now,” O’Connor said.