DETROIT, June 26, 2007 - Executives for the Hilton Hotel Corporation detailed their vision for the Fort Shelby Hotel as part of an event held Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.

Sandi Denton, Area Vice President for Hilton Hotels Corporation and Dennis Skiba, Director of Brand Performance, DoubleTree Hotels, were on hand for the 8:15 a.m. media event at 2211 Woodward, which included officially naming the hotel the Fort Shelby DoubleTree Guest Suites.

"The forthcoming DoubleTree Guest Suites is a reflection of Hilton's confidence in the future of downtown Detroit," said Denton. "After a 33 year absence, this marks the return of a full service Hilton project."

Tuesday's event included comments from Detroit Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams, Dave Bing, President and CEO of the Bing Group, Larry Alexander, President and CEO of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, Kenneth Cockrel Jr., President of the Detroit City Council and Keith Pierce, senior vice president/operations from the Detroit Media Partnership.

"This project is not only bringing back the best of the old, but bringing in the best of the new," said Council President Cockrel.

The finished $82 million project will consist of a Hilton Doubletree Hotel with 204 luxury suites, 38,000 square feet of conference meeting space, 63 upscale apartments, a destination bar and restaurant. The project is expected to create 300 jobs.

The Fort Shelby Hotel was built in 1916, and once served as one of the city's premier hotels. The site has been shuttered for decades, until the recent redevelopment plans were announced.

The project team consists of MCP Investments, Chevron USA, the General Retirement System of the City of Detroit, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, ShoreBank and Hilton Hotels. The architect is Hobbs & Black Architects and the construction team handling the project is L. S. Brinker Company.