The long-delayed construction of the Courtyard by Marriott hotel at Harrison Square officially began Monday with a groundbreaking overlooking the construction site.

Representatives of Fort Wayne city government, local lenders, civic leaders and White Lodging, the company building the hotel, gathered for the groundbreaking and expressed their enthusiasm for the project.

Deno Yiankes, president and CEO of the Investments and Development Division of White Lodging, didn't settle for mere enthusiasm. He gushed about the prospects for the hotel and Harrison Square.

“It's a great day in downtown Fort Wayne,” he said. He praised local officials and leaders in the effort to advance Harrison Square.

The finished appearance of Parkview Field exceeded anything he imagined in the early days of discussing the project.

“This is one of the rare times when the real product surpasses any rendering by an architect,” he said.

Mayor Tom Henry, who inherited the project from his predecessor, former Mayor Graham Richard, said the bare ground at the corner of Harrison and Jefferson streets is exciting, because it represents “opportunity for new jobs and economic growth.”

When the Harrison Square deals were cut in 2007 – before last year's lurch into deep recession – city officials expected the hotel to be open by now, instead of breaking ground for an opening late in summer 2010. The delay did not diminish the anticipation expressed by those who spoke before the groundbreaking.

Dan O'Connell, president and CEO of the Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the expansion of rooms and meeting space available downtown will make the city a much stronger contender for state and regional convention business.

The new hotel will include 250 rooms, 6,500 square feet of meeting space – including a 4,200-square-foot ballroom – and a Champions sports bar.