Recession be damned, D.C.'s  getting a convention center hotel.

Yesterday, Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the authorizing bill, which was approved by the DC Council last month. The legislation will set in place a plan to finance construction using public and private funds.

In a hearing about the convention center hotel earlier this summer, job creation came up repeatedly (as it usually does—with people wondering how much work will be promised to District residents).

Here's a snippet from yesterday's press release:

The project will produce more than 1,150 jobs during 40 months of construction. Marriott will hire about 1,000 people to work in the hotel permanently. The company has agreed to fill at least 51 percent of those new jobs with District residents and work closely with certified local, small and disadvantaged businesses. The development team expects to break ground on the hotel project this fall and it is expected to be complete in 2013.

Image by NCinDC, Flickr Creative Commons