MIDLAND, Texas — Editor's Note: The attached video is from a previous story on MDC's vote.
UPDATE: Midland City Council has voted to move forward with the new hotel.
Councilman Michael Trost moved to defer the project, but the motion failed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Midland Development Corporation has voted to move forward with a master development agreement that will bring a new hotel to downtown.
The new, full-service hotel will have 200 rooms.
Next, this agreement will head to City Council.
If they vote to move forward, the project will begin its construction phase, estimated to take one year.
Right now the only hotel in downtown Midland is the Doubletree by Hilton.
"We're hoping it also continues to stir investors to continue to develop and revamp downtown," Lowery said.
Beyond this, MDC second vice chair Stephen Lowery hopes it will lead more foot traffic to the Bush Convention Center and allow for more events downtown.
MDC met with about half a dozen developers throughout the last year and their vetting process was extensive.
They vetted Midway for the last two years by researching their capital structures and historical performance of their hotels to name a few factors.
"The current developer Midway has a very strong balance sheet and a history of successful hotels. They currently operate over 31 properties," Lowery said.
MDC also wanted to make sure the developers would be in Midland to stay.
"We also wanted to ensure that these guys, that Midway would be here to stay and they weren't just an operator who was gonna come and build a hotel and flip out of it," Lowery said.
MDC has been working toward this project for over ten years.
The total project cost is estimated at $65 million, $20.6 million from MDC and $44.4 million from Midway.
MDC Second Vice-Chair Stephen Lowery hopes this hotel will benefit travelers and Midlanders alike.
"An opportunity for business travelers to have another option downtown, as well as more conventions, more functions, more events," said Lowery.
MORE FROM NEWSWEST 9: