Military and hotel officials celebrated the upcoming arrival of the first Staybridge Suites hotel on a military installation with a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of the Fort Belvoir facility.
The hotel, to be located at 10300 Taylor Road across from the Fort Belvoir Community Center, will feature 141 bedroom suites and is scheduled to open in fall 2014.
The Staybridge Suites will primarily serve Families of patients being treated at the nearby Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, as well as those visiting the installation for business, according to Fort Belvoir Garrison Commander, Col. Gregory D. Gadson.
"This is a proud and humbling moment for Fort Belvoir," he said. "We are appreciative of your willingness to be a part of this event."
The hotel is being delivered through the $1 billion Privatization of Army Lodging program, an Army-led program established to revitalize on-post lodging facilities, and will be operated by InterContinental Hotels Group.
The Lend Lease (US) Public Partnership fosters the development or renovation of more than 11,000 hotel rooms across 39 installations in the United States.
The guest speakers put on hard hats and smiled as they used shovels to break ground during the ceremony. The event was originally scheduled to take place in October, but it was postponed because of the U.S. federal government shutdown.
Guests staying at the hotel will receive complimentary on-post shuttle service, according to a Lend Lease press release. All of the rooms will have fully-equipped kitchens and large work areas. The hotel will also feature multiple conference rooms fitted with state-of-the-art audio-visual systems.
The Staybridge Suites at Fort Belvoir hotel will set a new standard for what lodging should be on a military installation, according to Marc Sierra, managing director for Lend Lease. He touted the benefits of privatization at the ceremony.
"This is a day those of us at Lend Lease have been waiting for," Sierra said. "This is another milestone in this program."
Privatization allows those who excel at what they do to contribute to the Army, giving the Soldiers the opportunity to better focus on their mission of protecting the United States, according to Roxannamaria Calderon, Fort Belvoir Fisher House, business manager. Her organization provides housing to loved ones of those being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.
Calderon said she was happy to see officials break ground on Staybridge Suites at Fort Belvoir.
"It is improving the ability for our community to come together and take care of our warriors in the community," she said.
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