Dressed in a sharp dark blazer and gray hardhat, Dan Shah carefully steps around and over puddles as he walks through the Four Points by Sheraton Columbus-Airport construction site. Shah, region manager of Darpan Management, and Jamey Cua, senior director of development for Starwood, lead photographer Jim Callaway and me on a tour of the hotel. The $12-million project represents a leap of faith for the ownership group.

SHAH JOINED HIS FATHER'S NEWLY FORMED COMPANY, VJP HOSPITALITY, AFTER GRADUATING FROM OHIO STATE IN 1996.

Victor Shah and friends Jay Patel and Paul Patel (no relation) purchased a Best Western next to the OSU campus and Dan started as sales manager. Now, a dozen years and four hotels later, the group is stepping out of its comfort zone and into its biggest challenge yet.

The first Four Points to feature the brand's new prototype is also, by far, the biggest project ever undertaken by Darpan Management, an offshoot of VJP Hospitality. This will be the group's first full-service hotel, the group's first upscale property and a definite venture into new territory. The company's portfolio includes two Country Inns and Suites, a Baymont and a Wingate, all located in or around Columbus. The only other new build project was one of the Country Inns and Suites, and it came with a modest $4-million price tag in 2000.

The Four Points by Sheraton Columbus-Airport isn't a hotel quite yet, but the pride visible on Shah's face during the show and tell suggests it's much closer to reality than maybe anyone expected. The official groundbreaking was July 26, the day the building permit arrived and Miles-McClellan Construction Company stuck the first shovel in the ground. The next pivotal point was Dec. 10, the day the building topped out, which allowed work to continue through the winter. The project is on pace for a June or July opening, well ahead of Starwood's projected October date.

Shah is allowing Lodging Hospitality an inside look into the hotel and its development, from the day the plans were first conceived to the day the doors open for business.

On this cold and rainy December day, we enter through the front door into the large open lobby and walk up concrete stairs to the second, third and fourth floors. We even climb a ladder to the roof to see the burgeoning Columbus Airport, just two miles away.

Shah says everything about the project has gone smoothly, from land purchase to financing to construction. “Am I going to be nervous?” he asks. “Of course, with the economy, who's not? But we like what we see ahead. We're learning and having a lot of fun with this.

“It's a $12-million project…The first $12-million project for us. This is a step up for us. But it's a good feeling when you see the work you put in come up the way you imagined it.”

Inside the Four Points by Sheraton Columbus-Airport

The Project: The development of a four-story, 110-room hotel

The Price: $12 million

The Location: 3030 Plaza Properties Blvd., Columbus, OH

The Players:

Owners: Darpan Management (Jay Patel, president; Victor Shah, CFO; Paul Patel, CEO; Dan Shah, Region Manager)

Builder: Miles-McClellan Construction Company, Inc. (Scott Joslin, project manager)

Bank: Peoples Bancorp (Marietta, OH)

Architect: Dave Pontia of Pontia Architecture

Official Groundbreaking: July 26, 2008

Projected Opening: Early Summer 2009

1. The lobby of the Four Points by Sheraton Columbus-Airport should be open for business by this summer.

2. Port Columbus Airport is just two miles from the hotel.

3. Jamey Cua, left, senior director of development for Starwood, talks to Dan Shah.

ANATOMY OF DEVELOPMENT

In this six-part series, Lodging Hospitality will take you behind the scenes and inside the heads of those who are bringing the Four Points by Sheraton Columbus-Airport to life. We'll keep tabs on Dan Shah, his group and their project. We'll find out how and why decisions were made as we dissect the anatomy of a development.

This issue - Introducing the Project

March 15 - Making the Deal

May 1 - Branding & Management

July 15 - Architecture & Design

Sept. 1 - Ramping Up

Oct. 15 - Grand Opening