June 2007, Orlando FL: A partnership of Hilton Hotels Corp., New York-based Apollo Real Estate Advisors, and RIDA Development Corp. of Houston broke ground on the new $380 million Hilton Orlando Convention Center hotel on May 17th.
WELBRO Building Corporation was selected to construct the 1,400-room, 18-story hotel which will sit on 26.4 acres in the heart of Orlando's tourism district, south of the Orange County Convention Center. It will include 52 suites, a 15,000-square-foot spa and fitness center, several restaurants and bars, and about 130,000 square feet of meeting space, including 38 meeting rooms and a 50,000-square-foot grand ballroom. The hotel will link to the convention center via a pedestrian sky bridge.
Completion scheduled for August 2009. HKS Architects is the Architect of Record.
WELBRO Building Corporation has been building continuously in the Florida construction market for 28 years and is consistently ranked among the nation’s top contractors by Engineering News Record (ENR) and “Best Employer” by the Orlando Business Journal. WELBRO is a dominant force in the hotel/hospitality, education and commercial office markets. Other major project types include retail/commercial and special use facilities.
RIDA Development Corporation, established in 1972 by David Mitzner, has achieved a national and international reputation for creating innovative, premium quality and economically successful real estate. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with major operating divisions in Orlando, Fla. and Central Europe, principal officers, David, Jacob and Ira Mitzner have assembled a dedicated and highly competent team of professionals to create and maintain a quality - and ever expanding - real estate portfolio.
Apollo Real Estate Advisors is a leading international real estate investor and fund manager. Since the firm's founding in 1993, Apollo has overseen the establishment of 16 real estate funds and joint ventures totaling approximately $8.7 billion in equity commitments for investment in the United States and globally. The Apollo funds have collectively invested in over 400 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $30 billion.
Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) is the leading global hospitality company, with more than 2,800 hotels and 480,000 rooms in 76 countries and territories, including 100,000 team members worldwide.