[font=Verdana]Demolition on several vacant warehouses west of the new Indiana Stadium will begin this week, making way for two new hotels.[/font]

[font=Verdana]Tim and Bob Dora of Dora Brothers Hospitality Corp. purchased a 2-acre parcel from the city for $2.2 million for their new hotels.[/font]

[font=Verdana]Tim Dora said city officials helped the company find and acquire the land after it was forced to sell its Comfort Inn at [/font][font=Verdana]530 S. Capitol Ave.[/font][font=Verdana] under eminent domain laws. The hotel was in the footprint of the new stadium. The state paid the Doras $12.8 million for the 143-room hotel.[/font]

[font=Verdana]The two new hotels -- an eight-story, 113-suite Staybridge Suites and a six-story Comfort Suites Hotel with 135 rooms, both in the 500 block of [/font][font=Verdana]West Street[/font][font=Verdana] -- are within walking distance of the stadium.[/font]

[font=Verdana]Dora Brothers owns hotels across [/font][font=Verdana]Central Indiana[/font][font=Verdana], including in Fishers, [/font][font=Verdana]Carmel[/font][font=Verdana] and [/font][font=Verdana]Plainfield[/font][font=Verdana].[/font]

[font=Verdana]The company also owns the Best Western at [/font][font=Verdana]410 S. Missouri St., south[/font][font=Verdana] of the RCA Dome, and is converting it into a Holiday Inn Express this summer.[/font]

[font=Verdana]"It provides us with a sales advantage in the market," Dora said of the new hotels and the conversion. "With our three different hotels (Downtown), we cover all the different price points and levels of service."[/font]

[font=Verdana]Staybridge is a bit more high-end and targeted at guests who need longer stays, while Comfort Suites is geared at the one-night-stay crowd.[/font]

[font=Verdana]Environmental cleanup on the 2-acre site is complete, and demolition is scheduled to start Thursday at [/font][font=Verdana]501 S. West St[/font][font=Verdana]. A couple of old warehouses will be razed, Dora said.[/font]

[font=Verdana]Both hotels are set to open in May 2007.[/font]