Groundbreaking for a proposed 73,000-square-foot Marriott Courtyard in downtown Charleston just off Interstate 64 is scheduled for the end of March. The $14 million hotel is in Charleston's tax-increment financing district, which funds economic development projects in the city.

Property owner and developer Charlie Wendell said the Marriott Courtyard will face a different direction than initially planned. The hotel was supposed to stand parallel to Kanawha Boulevard and face Virginia Street. Instead, it will face east with its back to the Elk River, Wendell said.