Construction of CentrePointe’s hotels has started. Office tower to top out in April.

Construction began this week on the CentrePointe development’s two hotels in downtown Lexington.

Crews began setting specially-constructed steel beams for the two hotels on Thursday, said Ralph Coldiron, a project manager for the Webb Companies, the developer of the multi-use project in the center of downtown.

In December, crews started on a 12-story office tower on the corner of Main and South Limestone streets, the first of the three buildings on the site to go vertical.

The long-delayed development — nearly nine years in the making — includes the office tower with condominium penthouses, a 120-room extended-stay Residence Inn with a rooftop bar and a 230-room Marriott hotel.

The hotels will be connected to each other and share some common spaces. The Residence Inn is on the corner of Main and South Upper. On Friday, workers were erecting beams for the Marriott hotel at the corner of Upper and Vine streets. The development is using Deltabeam beams, which are lighter than traditional steel beams.

A three-story underground parking garage — which the buildings are being built on top off — was completed in the fall.

Construction workers are expected to reach the top of the office tower by early April. It is scheduled to be completed by January 1, 2019. The two hotels are slated for completion in September 2019, Coldiron said.

This story was originally published February 9, 2018 at 11:34 AM with the headline "Construction of CentrePointe’s hotels has started. Office tower to top out in April.."