Second Huntington Place Convention Center Hotel

Detroit's convention authority and a local developer have unveiled plans for a second hotel tied to Huntington Place, a roughly 600-room, $450 million tower to rise on a downtown block just north of the convention center. The project is entirely separate from the JW Marriott Detroit Water Square already under construction nearby. No brand has been chosen and construction is not expected to start before early 2027.

The place

The site sits immediately north of Huntington Place, on the downtown block bounded by Cass Avenue, West Fort Street, Washington Boulevard and West Congress Street. The plan requires demolishing the existing structures on that block, chiefly the 16-story Fort Washington Plaza office tower at 333 W. Fort St. (built in 1969) and the Downtown Garage parking structure, plus an adjoining three-story building. A proposed skybridge or covered walkway would link the new tower directly into the convention center, mirroring the connection already planned for the JW Marriott Detroit Water Square project a few blocks away.

The concept

This is a second, distinct hotel from the JW Marriott Detroit Water Square, which is already under construction on the former Joe Louis Arena site. The project announced in April 2026 by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and developer Congress & Associates, an affiliate of the Detroit-based Sterling Group, calls for a roughly 25-story, 600-room tower built specifically to serve Huntington Place's largest conventions, which regularly outstrip the room block the JW Marriott alone can offer. Ownership is structured as a public-private joint venture: about 51 percent held by the developer (and eventually a hotel brand, once one is selected), and 49 percent by the DRCFA itself. No operator or flag has been named, and the developers have said brand discussions are still underway. At this stage the project is a real estate and financing plan, not a hotel with a defined identity — everything beyond the room count, site and rough budget remains provisional.

Dining & wellness

Public plans describe two restaurants and roughly 50,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space within the tower, intended to complement rather than duplicate Huntington Place's own exhibition halls. No chef, restaurant concept or food-and-beverage operator has been announced.