Hilton Announces Baltimore Convention Center Hotel
BEVERLY HILLS, CA< September 7, 2006. Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) has announced the start of construction on the Hilton Baltimore, a 20-story, 757-room hotel, located in the Baltimore Inner Harbor, attached via a sky bridge to the Baltimore Convention Center and adjacent to Camden Yards.
Hilton Hotels Corporation will manage the hotel under a long term management agreement for the City of Baltimore, through the Baltimore Hotel Corporation, the developer for the project. The design builder is Hensel Phelps Construction Co. and the hotel has been designed by RTKL Associates. Completion and opening is scheduled for summer 2008.
"In collaboration with the City of Baltimore, we are thrilled to be able to announce the start of construction on this important project," says Ted Ratcliff, Senior Vice President, Hilton/Doubletree Eastern Region, Hilton Hotels Corporation. "With a fabulous location tied into the Baltimore Convention Center, upscale Hilton amenities, and a variety of leisure and dining opportunities in the hotel and surrounding neighborhood, the Hilton Baltimore will help boost Baltimore's status as a prime destination for national conventions."
The development of the Hilton Baltimore was funded by the sale of $300.9 million of revenue bonds issued by the City of Baltimore. The hotel will be constructed and managed in alignment with the city's diversity initiatives, and the hotel will feature 883,000 square feet of interior space, including 757 guest rooms. This is the largest number of rooms offered by any one hotel in Baltimore. The hotel will boast a 25,000 square foot grand ballroom - the city's largest - and a 15,000 square foot junior ballroom; an additional 20,000 square feet of flexible function space; three food and beverage outlets; a fitness center, and a business center. Retail space will be included. Located on Pratt Street, between Paca and Howard Streets, the hotel will be in walking distance to all the Inner Harbor amenities and attractions.
'This project is a great addition to Baltimore's tourism offerings, enabling us to attract the kind of large conventions to the city which currently cannot be accommodated,' says M.J. 'Jay' Brodie, Chairman of the Baltimore Hotel Corporation. 'The new hotel and surrounding grounds will provide first-class lodging services to Convention Center guests, business and leisure visitors, and to the residents of the City of Baltimore.'
The Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association (BACVA) also supports the project. According to Jeff Hungate, BACVA's chief operating offer, 'It is clear that conventioneers want to come to Baltimore. The new hotel will allow us to bring more visitors to our great city.'
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