Mortenson Development said construction began on Wednesday of a new 211-room Hampton Inn & Suites over by the First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis. It's now a surface parking lot.

The nine-story, $37 million project is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2015. Located at First Avenue and Eighth Street, the new hotel will be near Target Field, Target Center, the city's entertainment district and will be connected to the skyway system.

Construction of the new hotel property is being managed by Mortenson Construction, and designed by ESG Architects in Minneapolis. It will be the first Hampton Inn & Suites in the city of Minneapolis.

"The vibrancy of the downtown Minneapolis market is evident everywhere you look," said Tom Lander, vice president of Mortenson Development. "This property will be ideally located near major attractions and will provide tremendous accessibility to the downtown core, at an affordable price point, for the city's guests."