Louisville Marriott Tops Off

Louisville’s newest premier convention hotel, the Louisville Marriott Downtown, marked its pre-opening progress with a topping-off ceremony and ceremonial beam signing on Wednesday, May 26th. Mayor Jerry E. Abramson, City dignitaries, convention meeting planners, and hotel owners and managers signed the beam to recognize the completion of the top floor of the 617-room luxury hotel. The beam was then hoisted to its place among the steel and concrete making up the construction site, to the delight of onlookers.

“This topping out of the Louisville Marriott Downtown means that soon new people and new dollars will be coming to Louisville,” said Mayor Abramson. “We will have 2,500 hotel rooms connected to our convention center, which will be a draw for bigger conventions, as well as new retail and dining spaces, and luxury accommodations for our visitors and tourists to call home during their stay in Louisville.”

Steve Poe, managing partner of the local investors group in the hotel partnership said, “The $110 million Louisville Marriott Downtown project is the largest Marriott urban hotel currently under construction anywhere. With the merger of the city and county to form the 16th largest city in America, the need was apparent for a public and private partnership that would benefit the city in this way. This hotel is a perfect example of how the public and private sectors can work together to create a success for the community.”

The hotel is scheduled to open in early spring 2005 and will create more than 550 jobs in the city and surrounding counties. It is located at 280 West Jefferson Street, directly across from and connected to the Kentucky International Convention Center. The hotel will feature more than 44,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 21,000 square foot grand Louisville Ballroom, and will offer a state-of-the-art business center with high-speed Internet access, three restaurants, a lounge, an indoor pool, and an oversized health club.

“The addition of the Louisville Marriott Downtown is helping Louisville attract a wider variety of large national conventions and we feel this reflects just the beginning of future demand,” said Shane Weaver, Director of Marketing for Louisville Marriott Downtown. “With our 40,000 square feet of meeting space and connectivity to the Convention Center, combined with all Louisville has to offer, meeting planners are definitely taking notice.”

The downtown location of the new Louisville Marriott places it in the heart of the shopping, dining and entertainment district of the city. The hotel is just blocks away from the new 4th Street Live entertainment and shopping development, Waterfront Park, and Louisville Slugger Field, and is just 10 minutes from Louisville International Airport.

For more information about group bookings, contact the hotel’s pre-opening sales team at 502-627-5045, or visit the hotel’s website at http://www.marriottlouisville.com/.