By Ken Storey
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| The project is currently in the design phase but these renderings have been submitted to the City of Orlando for review |
On Monday I mentioned that downtown Orlando has several new hotels coming down the development pipeline with the focus of the post on the new K Hotel coming to the Capital Plaza III development that will soon break ground.
On the corner of Colonial Drive and Orange Ave within the Uptown District we have another hotel coming in. The Ustler Group is developing a 135 room, 8 story mid-rise building with an integrated parking garage. The $22million project will wrap around Mama B's Sub Shop property and will feature a 4,000 sq ft restaurant along the ground floor overlooking Colonial Drive with the hotel lobby accessible from the Orange Avenue side. The Ustler Group has entered into a joint venture and co-development agreement with a nationally recognized hotel owner/operator with significant experience in the Central Florida region. A well-recognized and market-leading hotel brand has been secured, but has not been released to the public.
While no hotel brand has been released word on the street seems to indicate that Hilton Worldwide is at least one of the hotel operators interested in the site but these are still unconfirmed rumors. Hilton brands have expressed interest in the downtown market numerous times before though, both with the Hilton branded hotel at Church Street Station and a Hampton Inn where the K Hotel is now planning to go. There is also a Double Tree by Hilton just up Orange Ave also within the Uptown District. W Hotels have also previously expressed interest in the downtown market. There is no indication that the brand will be announced anytime soon but as soon as it is TheDailyCity.com will cover it.
The hotel is scheduled to break ground in 1st or 2nd quarter 2013 with a completion date scheduled for Summer of 2014.
