Jackson, MS (May 31, 2011)—Marlene Macaluso, who has served since last year as general manager of Hilton Garden Inn French Quarter/Central Business District in New Orleans, has been appointed to the same position at the Hilton Garden Inn Jackson Downtown in the historic King Edward building, announced Gary Gutierrez, president of HRI Lodging, an affiliate of HRI Properties (HRI), the lead developer and majority owner of the King Edward.
 
She has more than 25 years of experience managing resort properties in the U.S. and the Caribbean.
 
“Marlene has demonstrated a keen understanding of how to manage for excellence in a central downtown location,” said Gutierrez. “Her experience at both resort properties and historic hotels represents the perfect combination to maintain and enhance the successful operation of our hotel in downtown Jackson’s historic King Edward building,” he added.
 
Before joining HRI Properties last year, Macaluso served as operations director at the 328-room Hilton Oceanfront Resort in Hilton Head, SC since 2006. During her tenure at the Hilton Oceanside Resort, the hotel achieved Hilton’s Top 25 Voice of the Customer rankings several times and won Hilton’s award for most improved hotel customer service in 2006.
 
She has experience working in historic hotels in New Orleans at The Whitney, a Wyndham Historic Hotel, where she served as general manager from 2001-2004, before moving to the same position at The Tutwiler, a Wyndham Historic Hotel in Birmingham, AL.
 
She has also worked at Wyndham hotels in Miami and Puerto Rico and other resort properties in Aruba, Dutch West Indies.
 
The King Edward building today is the most prominent success story in downtown Jackson, offering 186 rooms under the Hilton Garden Inn brand and 64 luxury apartments on the top floors, representing a total investment of $90 million in Jackson’s downtown. The King Edward project is majority owned by HRI of New Orleans, a pioneer and national leader in the adaptive reuse of historic structures and the revitalization of downtown centers.
 
In addition to the King Edward apartments, the adjacent Standard Life Building offers another 76 luxury rental units. The Standard Life apartments are managed and owned as an integrated unit with the King Edward. The $33.5 million investment in the Standard Life Building brings the total development cost of the King Edward/Standard Life Mixed-Use complex to $123 million.
 
About HRI Properties
Based in New Orleans, HRI Properties (HRI) is a full-service real estate development company and a national leader in the adaptive reuse of historic structures. HRI’s mission is revitalizing cities by creating diverse, vibrant, sustainable communities. For more information, go to www.hriproperties.com.
 
HRI Lodging owns and operates hotel properties in New Orleans, LA; Shreveport, LA; Jackson, MS and Richmond, VA. HRI hotels include restoration of the D.H. Holmes department store in New Orleans into the Chateau Bourbon Hotel; the King Edward Hotel in Jackson and the Miller & Rhoads department store in Richmond, both of which fly the Hilton Garden Inn flag.