Last week, all seemed quiet at the new La Quinta Inn & Suites under construction on Maple Grove Road in Duluth.
With windows in and most of the brickwork done, the exterior work was nearing completion. Just a few workers could be seen outside.
But inside there was a flurry of activity.
With the utilities in and upper floor walls in place, dozens of workers were installing Sheetrock and doing other interior buildout work on the second and third floors.
"We always start on top and work down," explained Brian Anderson, project superintendent with Bedrock CMS.
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The intensity of the work will build in the next three months as the $8 million hotel nears its targeted late May completion and a targeted opening the weekend before the June 20 Grandma's Marathon, said Anderson, who is overseeing the project.
The developer, Dell Inc. of Fargo, N.D., also owns La Quinta Inns in Fargo and Bismarck, N.D. The new 50,000-square-foot Duluth La Quinta sits on a 2.15-acre site that was mostly undeveloped when the Fargo group bought it for $600,000.
Construction of the three-story, 96-room hotel at 1805 Maple Grove Road began in August. Over the winter, it took shape just north of Miller Trunk Highway next to the Floor to Ceiling store and across from the Vein Clinic.
Long and rectangular in shape, the new hotel faces Maple Grove Road. It will feature a lobby with a small seating area, an indoor pool, exercise room and an eating area that will seat 36 people. With midscale rates, the hotel is expected to cater to travelers, visitors, tourists and business people.
Bedrock Construction, based in Wisconsin, and the local subcontractors employ union labor, Anderson said.
The biggest challenge hasn't been working in a Duluth winter, since the workers are local and used to it. Rather, the biggest challenge came during excavation, when they hit solid rock, he said. The bluestone uncovered had to be blasted out. But it won't go to waste.
"We will use it for landscaping on site," he said.
Based in Dallas, La Quinta Inns & Suites has more than 800 hotels in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In Minnesota, the hospitality chain has hotels in the Twin Cities, but the Duluth hotel will be its first in the Northland.
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When the Duluth La Quinta opens in June, it will join three other hotels in the Miller Hill area: Days Inn, Fairfield Inn and the Residence Inn by Marriott.
But more hotels have been proposed for the Miller Hill commercial corridor. A Staybridge Suites is being planned for the corner of Central Entrance and Blackman Avenue. A Hampton Inn & Suites is planned for Mall Drive, behind the Texas Roadhouse restaurant. And a Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites will be built on the former Cinema 8 site on the south side of Miller Trunk Highway, just west of Haines Road in Hermantown.
