Conrad Washington, DC Opens Doors

Conrad Washington, D.C.

The Conrad Washington, D.C. hotel has opened to the public, marking Hilton’s first luxury hospitality venue in the nation’s capital. Developed by Hines and Qatari Diar, the real estate investment arm of the Qatar Investment Authority, the 10-floor, 360-key hotel is part of the sprawling CityCenterDC project in the heart of the city.

The hotel has a reported development cost of $250 million and is the latest addition to the Conrad Hotels & Resorts luxury brand portfolio operated by Hilton Worldwide. Hines and Qatari Diar teamed up in 2014 to build the hotel, which features a restaurant, a full-service club and a rooftop bar with outdoor terraces. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, Conrad Washington, D.C. also includes 30,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 32,000 square feet of meeting space. The property is located at New York Avenue and 10th Street NW.

Aside from the newly launched hotel, CityCenterDC encompasses more than 260,000 square feet of retail space, 520,000 square feet of office space, 458 rental apartments and 216 condos. The landmark 10-acre project intended to revitalize downtown D.C. broke ground in March 2011 and was substantially complete by December 2013. Gould Property Co. and Oxford Properties Group are also planning an additional office tower within the mixed-use development.

Downtown hotel adds to DC guestroom boom

The U.S. capital is undergoing a hotel-building boom, with more than 1,654 new guestrooms hitting the market in the Greater D.C. area in 2018, according to a report by hospitality consulting firm HVS published last November. That pace of hotel growth is expected to continue through 2020, though due to strong demand, the impact of all this new supply on overall absorption is predicted to be modest.

“The ever-evolving market within the nation’s capital provides the perfect opportunity to bring Conrad’s inspiring design, intuitive service and culinary excellence to business and leisure travelers alike,” said Martin Rinck, executive vice president & global head of Hilton’s Luxury & Lifestyle Group, in a prepared statement on the opening of Conrad Washington, D.C.

A roster of D.C.-based real estate firms developed the hotel in concert with Hines and Qatari Diar, including Bundy Development Corp., The Jarvis Co., The Neighborhood Development Co., and Triden Development Group. Architecture and design firms including HKS Inc., Rottet Studio and Gustafson Guthrie Nichol joined Herzog & de Meuron to work on various aspects of the project’s design.

Image courtesy of Hines