Kirkwood Community College Celebrates Hotel Construction Progress
The guests came early, stayed late, ate well and toasted a unique educational project.
That was the scene at Kirkwood Community College on Nov. 10 as the school welcomed nearly 600 community supporters and business partners to a topping-out party for The Hotel at Kirkwood Center. On-site hospitality education was the central focus for the event, with students providing refreshments, décor, service and entertainment for throngs of interested visitors.
The topping-out event is a time-honored signal of construction progress and the promise of good things to come as the building nears completion. Kirkwood’s Lee Belfield is a veteran of hotel and restaurant management for more than two decades. He signed on as manager of the new teaching hotel in the summer of 2009 and was unofficial “lead guide” for the many guests at the open house event.
“We’ve been telling people for a couple years how this new teaching facility could change how hotel/motel management and hospitality arts overall can be taught. This event brought it into focus. I can tell that by the comments of the visitors and the questions they asked our students. This really is going to be a new day for hospitality education in the Midwest,” Belfield said.
Party guests donned hard hats and walked through the first two floors of the hotel construction zone. Tour stops included a sample of the presidential suites, plus the classroom and culinary laboratory areas on the first floor. A favorite stop was the demonstration auditorium, with semi-circular seating for about 100. Guests were asked to imagine the multi-media capabilities as guest chefs and wine experts impart their secrets to students seated in rising rows.
Elsewhere the focus was on food, drink and entertainment as dozens of Kirkwood Hospitality Arts students served thousands of canapés and desserts. In the background, student ensembles played jazz as the guests admired a host of floral centerpieces and accent designs, also created by the college’s Floral Careers students.
The new teaching hotel has been under construction for a little over a year, with concept studies and development dating back to 2006. Belfield used an educational research award to study the few teaching hotels in other parts of the U.S. and build a conceptual set of ideas for how a hotel designed for a unique guest experience could also be a daily teaching tool.
The result was The Hotel at Kirkwood Center. The 71-room facility includes six suites and a variety of other room choices, plus a full-service restaurant with catering support for on-site events. Belfield describes the hotel style and function as “upscale, boutique and full-service” and says it was designed to fit into a niche for its eastern Iowa location as well as a comprehensive set of student experiences.
“First, last and foremost this is going to be a real-world laboratory that happens to also bring high-value hospitality to our guests. Our students will work in daily roles alongside a professional staff of more than 70 people. This is going to re-define how hospitality careers are taught in the future,” Belfield added.
College officials note that about 250 students are now enrolled in the five credit programs in Kirkwood’s Hospitality Arts curriculum. With the expanded capacity and facilities they expect 300 or more students to pursue those programs in the next two years.
Midway through the festivities on November 10, Kirkwood President Mick Starcevich invited the multitude to pause the party for a traditional toast. He recognized the faculty, staff and students in turn, and acknowledged the wider community support that is bringing The Hotel at Kirkwood Center from concept to reality.
“What you see and hear tonight is what we celebrate,” Starcevich said. “This is that spirit of hospitality that Iowans know so well. This place reflects the wisdom and training for this and future generations of professionals. We toast what we can do, what we will do—together!”
Further information on construction progress at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center is available from the program’s dedicated Web site: