NEWARK -- The University of Delaware and its wholly owned subsidiary 1743 Holdings, LLC, are seeking letters of interest from potential partners to bring a full-service hotel to the university's Science, Technology & Advanced Research (STAR) Campus.
According to officials, the hotel would include a restaurant and a conference facility and create a partnership with the school's Hospitality Business Management Program.
With a new $50 million regional transit hub scheduled to open in 2018, which will generate an increase in passengers on both Amtrak and SEPTA, construction of a hotel that would serve as an anchor for a mixed use Transit Oriented Development.
"It's all coming together for the university," said Jeremy R. Sunkett, director of real estate at UD, who added that the addition of a hotel to the 272-acre STAR campus has always been part of the master plan.
While Sunkett said the university is simply hoping to gauge market interest, he confirmed he has already fielded queries about hotel development.
A full-service hotel that offers both a conference and restaurant facilities would offer an immediate tie-in to STAR, as well as facilitate experiential learning and future employment opportunities for UD students, Sunkett said.
The STAR Campus is home to digital infrastructure management company SevOne, fuel cell manufacturer Bloom Energy, a prosthetic and orthotic manufacturer and a new business incubator, and the university's Health Sciences Complex.
According to Sunkett, the university is casting a wide net and reaching out to industry associations tied to hospitality.
