Hilton Hotels & Resorts has been selected as the flag and operating company of the Iowa Events Center Hotel, based on a recommendation from a committee made up of representatives of organizations that have pressed for a convention center hotel in Des Moines.

The IEC Hotel Corp. will consider a resolution today to hire Kutak Rock LLP to work out the financial terms of an agreement with Hilton as well as a management agreement. Details of the financial package, which should include the price Hilton is willing to pay to have its banner fly over the $100 million hotel, should be worked out by late summer, said Polk County Administrator Mark Wandro.

The seven-member board that oversees the nonprofit IEC Hotel Corp. selected Hilton during its meeting July 23.

Cleveland-based consultant Ellis Katz was hired to initiate the search for a brand and operator. He told the Business Record in May that he would use a hybrid approach that sought a known brand that would also operate the hotel or would seek separate brands and operators.

A committee made up of Katz and representatives from IEC Hotel Corp. financial advisers Piper Jaffray & Co., Polk County, the city of Des Moines, the Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Des Moines Partnership vetted three applicants. Also under consideration were Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.’s Westin brand. The committee recommended Hilton as the flag and operator.

During its meeting July 21, the Polk County Board of Supervisors approved an agreement with Kutak Rock, a global law firm based in Omaha, to develope a qualified management agreement for operation of the convention center hotel. Kutak Rock, which specializes in such negotiations, estimated that its services would not exceed $80,000.

A financing plan for the convention center hotel estimated the value of branding the facility at $1.75 million.

A 330-room, 10-story hotel has been proposed for Fifth Avenue and Park Street. It would be part of the 23.5-acre Iowa Convention and Entertainment Reinvestment District that has received preliminary approval from the Iowa Economic Development Authority to receive a portion of sales tax revenues and hotel/motel tax revenues over 20 years. IEDA has approved the capture of $36.4 million of the tax revenues generated in the district.

The IEC Hotel Corp. board also will consider a resolution today to hire Ahlers & Cooney P.C. as bond counsel. Board member Michael Galloway is a shareholder at the law firm. He will abstain from participating in actions that pose a conflict, according to the engagement letter from Ahlers & Cooney.