Dennis Mitchell has been promoted to vice president of development and construction at OTO Development. He is a 17-year company veteran who has been involved in leading multiple award-winning development and renovation projects. OTO Development, part of The Johnson Group, is a private hospitality company that develops, owns and operates upscale select-service hotels throughout the continental United States.
“Dennis has accrued an incredible depth and breadth of construction experience, from prototypical projects to complex builds in environmentally sensitive locations,” CEO Todd Turner said in a statement. “The expertise he brings to the OTO leadership team will be an incredible asset as we pursue both ground-up and redevelopment projects to grow our portfolio.”
As vice president of development and construction, Mitchell will oversee all development projects, with responsibility for entitlement as well as best-in-class design and construction practices.
“I’m intrigued by the challenges ahead,” said Mitchell, whose multifaceted background includes design-build roles of increasing responsibility in the hospitality and industrial realms.
Before joining OTO Development in February 2007, he spent 10 years as a design engineer in the microelectronic industry, focusing on high-purity water systems, chemical and gas delivery systems and waste treatment systems. A global client base in Asia, the United States and Europe provided exposure to a multitude of construction methodologies.
His first hospitality project was a Hampton Inn in Pinellas Park, Fla., located next to an airport runway. “In addition to the acoustic challenges, I found myself quickly learning the importance of color schemes, fabrics and finishes, a foreign concept in my previous industrial work,” Mitchell recalls. He went on to oversee the first Marriott-branded hotel on the eastern seaboard built via modular construction. “Building a modular hotel—an AC Hotel in Chapel Hill, N.C.—has been one of my more exciting projects,” he said. “The planning was extensive, and seeing three floors of rooms go up in 10 short days was a satisfying moment.”
In his new role on the OTO leadership team, Mitchell is based out of the company’s corporate headquarters in Spartanburg, S.C.