Hotel developer Sam Moon Group and the city of Frisco broke ground Wednesday on an 18-story, 303-room hotel, Hyatt Regency Stonebriar.

The hotel will be attached to Stonebriar Centre on the second floor and will be located between Dillard’s and Nordstrom. The project will feature a 54,585-square-foot conference center, including a grand ballroom, junior ballroom and additional event spaces. The hotel will include an 800-space parking garage and a 3,000-square-foot Frisco public library.

Daniel Moon, Sam Moon Group vice president, said this project started in April 2014. Moon said the company experienced several delays getting the project off the ground. One of those delays included the announcement of KidZania opening its first U.S. location at Stonebriar Centre. KidZania is a children’s entertainment center that teaches children through role-play by allowing them to work adult jobs and earn currency.

Moon said the company had to coordinate architect and engineering teams to accommodate construction of the KidZania facility.

“It was very complicated, but at the end of the day we think the KidZania project not only helps the city of Frisco, but it helps Stonebriar mall, and it will definitely help the Hyatt Regency project so it was well worth the wait,” Moon said.

The hotel is a public-private partnership with the city of Frisco and its development corporations that will contribute a total of $16.5 million to the project over a 20-year period. The Frisco Economic Development Corp. will commit to $3 million; the Frisco Community Development Corp. will provide $3 million; and the city of Frisco will spend $10.5 million to buy the conference center when construction is complete.

“This project is exciting for multiple generations of Frisco leadership,” Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney said. “Stonebriar mall will go down as the most impactful economic development project in Frisco’s history; [it] put Frisco on the map. ... Past leadership has brought us this far, and current leadership sees the value in continuing to reinvest in this project to make sure it thrives here almost 20 years later and that it is still thriving 20 years from now.”

Hyatt Regency Stonebriar is expected to be complete in 2020.