Hotel capacity grows in Mankato.

Byline: Matt M. Johnson

Less than two years from now, Mankato's recently expanded civic center will have another 317 new or freshly remodeled hotel rooms attached to it.

Two developers are seeking the approvals they need to get three hotel projects moving forward. The most recent involves converting the 104-year-old Landmark Center office building at 121 Main St. E. into a 60-room boutique hotel, then attaching it via skyway to the 40-year-old City Center Hotel next door. That hotel will be remodeled and reflagged as a 140-room Holiday Inn.

First-time developer and Landmark Center owner Jon Kietzer is pursuing the two projects with backing from co-developer and hotelier Slowey Management of Yankton, South Dakota, Kietzer said in a Tuesday interview. Kietzer also owns a Century 21 real estate office in Mankato.

Linking the two hotels allows them to share 47 surface parking stalls at the future Landmark Hotel and 117 underground stalls at the future Holiday Inn, Kietzer said. The $30 million set of development projects are being positioned to take advantage of an expected bump in conference business at the civic center, he said. The city completed an addition of about 70,000 square feet of space to the civic center in 2016. The property was renamed on Jan. 1 the MayoClinicHealth System EventCenter, as part of a 5-year agreement between Mayo Health Systems and the city.

Kietzer paid $1.5 million for the 27,500-square-foot Landmark Center in 2014, according to CoStar, and has signed a purchase agreement with the owner of the City Center hotel, AHMZ LLC, a company related to Zahid Hameed of Brooklyn Park. AHMZ paid $2.65 million for the hotel, which was previously a Holiday Inn, in 2015. Kietzer plans to close on the purchase within the next 30 days.

The City Center Hotel rooms will be renovated in two phases, and plans are to remove a roof over an indoor swimming pool to create an outdoor courtyard, Kietzer said. A new indoor pool will be built elsewhere in the hotel. The hotel is already connected to the civic center via skyway.

"We do have a ton of work we have to do," he said.

Both projects are being designed by Milwaukee-based TKWA. Kietzer and Slowey have yet to choose a general contractor.

The partners will be bringing in additional investors to fund the work. The hotel and Landmark Center are both in an opportunity zone. Kietzer and Slowey plan to own the hotels for 10 years or more. That will allow investors to earn on their...