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Associated Architects Selected to Restore Landmark Hotel

NEW YORK, New York - (November 10, 1997)  --  Diana Agrest, Architects and The Hillier Group have been selected to overhaul a 70-year-old landmark hotel in Tampa, Florida.  The historic 20-story Floridan Hotel,
located on North Florida Avenue, will be restored to its original elegance, which marks a new milestone in the revitalization of Tampa's north end.   A new parking garage will also be designed and constructed for the hotel and public use.

The Floridan Hotel is the only grand hotel left standing from Tampa's 1920's land boom.  The vacant hotel was designed and built in 1927 by Francis J. Kennard and Son, Architects, and is a Georgian Revival, Beaux
Arts  landmark.

"This project offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the revitalization of downtown Tampa," says Diana Agrest, AIA. "Our challenge will be to match the hotel's historic nature with the new construction of a parking garage, which we  intend to treat as a piece of significant architecture."  Adds Gerard F.X. Geier II, Managing
Principal of Hillier, New York, "We are proud to be part of this historic moment for the City of Tampa.  Our team has hit the ground running to ensure a visually appealing project which will be completed on time and within budget."

The 200,000-square-foot Floridan Hotel will receive a complete interior and exterior renovation.  In an effort to create more spacious guest rooms, Agrest and Hillier will reduce the 316-room hotel  to 225 rooms. The plan also calls for an expansive formal lobby, as well as restaurants, meeting rooms, and a rooftop health spa with a lap pool.   A new 350-car parking garage will be constructed adjacent to the hotel.
 
Design work began in July and the project is scheduled for completion in Winter '98.  The  hotel is owned by Capital L.L.C. located in Tampa. Floridan Parking Group L.L.C. also located in Tampa owns the  parking
garage.   The project team includes Diana Agrest, Design principal, and, from Hillier,  Project Principal Guy Geier, Project Architect Maria Suri and Designer Sharon Eshet.

Diana Agrest, Architects is a full-service urban design, architecture and interior design firm located in New York City, and is known for its unique design quality and concepts.  Diana Agrest, AIA has been in practice for 16 years.  As a small firm, Diana Agrest, Architects frequently associates with larger firms.

The Hillier Group is a full-service architecture and interior design firm with offices in New York City; Princeton, New Jersey; Philadelphia; Dallas; Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C. and Sydney, Australia.  The firm has worked in forty-one states and eighteen foreign countries and has won more than 200 awards in recognition of design excellence.

Contact:
Lorraine Dowdey
Hillier New York
Tel:  (212) 629-4100  (917) 737-4625
 


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