Out-of-town visitors to Wichita State have only a few years left of being limited to choosing a hotel that’s several miles from campus.

The University announced construction of a 123-room Element hotel by Westin Hotels on campus earlier this month. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2017 on the corner of Oliver and 19th streets. 19th Street is a new street being built on the Innovation Campus. The hotel is expected be built in 18 months.

“The hotel is a must-have for continued growth on campus,” said John Tomblin, vice president for research and technology transfer, in a statement. 

Lou Heldman, vice president for Strategic Communications, said the hotel will be open to the public, but will seek large groups of people more likely to stay in the hotel.

One of those groups consists of business travelers visiting WSU. Several companies will be housed on the Innovation Campus, including Airbus Americas, and those companies expect to have visitors to campus who will use the hotel, Heldman said.

“We think that (Airbus) will have a lot of visitors who come into deal with the engineers who will be based on Innovation Campus,” Heldman said.

Another demographic that will likely use the hotel the most, Heldman said, are corporate recruiters wanting to talk to students about jobs and internships. 

In addition, families of prospective students and parents of out-of-town students are likely to stay at the hotel.

“If they’re from more than driving distance, and are flying in, they may well want to stay there,” Heldman said. “Think how great it’d be to stay on the campus you’re thinking about attending.”

The 20-acre area reserved for the hotel will be named Braeburn Square, in honor of the university golf course that operated there until closing in November 2014. 

Heldman said the Westin Hotel is the only concrete building planned for that area, but more buildings will likely be built there as space allows.

According to a news release from the university, Braeburn Square buildings will be privately financed without the use of student or public funds. Heldman said WSU will not own the hotel.

“Wichita State, through the Wichita State Innovation Alliance, will get a fee for every occupied room night,” Heldman said. 

“That money will then go into maintenance of Innovation Campus.”

In addition to convenience to visitors having a hotel on campus, Heldman said Element hotels are built and operated with environmental consciousness. 

“They have a very modern design,” Heldman said. “There’s a freshness to it that’s really appealing.” 

Element by Westin Hotels have about 60 hotels in operation or planned in the U.S. and Canada, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The nearest locations to Wichita are in Omaha, Dallas and Denver.

The first two buildings on Innovation Campus, the Experiential Engineering Building and the Airbus Americas Partnership Building, are under construction and will be completed this fall. Heldman said the buildings will not be ready for the fall semester, but will be in full use next spring.

In a statement, University President John Bardo said Innovation Campus is more than adding new buildings to campus.

“At its heart, the Innovation Campus isn’t about buildings,” Bardo said. “It’s about creating an environment for applied learning and research to stimulate and grow the Kansas economy.”