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Boca Raton
City Council Unanimously Approves Plans
Presented By
Globally Renowned
Award-Winning Gensler Design Firm
Award-Winning Gensler Design Firm
For Complete
Transformation of Boca Raton Bridge Hotel
BOCA
RATON, FL (February 13, 2013) –AWH Partners, LLC and The Lane Organization LLC
jointly announced that the international renowned award-winning Gensler design
firm has been selected to lead the architectural, interior design, and brand
transformation of the Boca Raton Bridge Hotel. With Boca Raton City Council
approval granted yesterday on Gensler’s reinvention concepts, the comprehensive
transformation of the boutique hotel into a four-star status will begin in May
2013.
The Bridge Hotel remains one
of Boca’s most notable, operating as a traditional hotel, as new ownership
repositions and reinvents it to be more relevant and exciting to meet the
desires and needs of today’s discerning vacationers as well as social and business
guests. Led by a seasoned team of designers and hospitality, operations,
management and marketing consultants, the hotel is being completely transformed
into a premier South Florida experience with its own newly positioned
distinctive signature in the destination.
“We are excited to introduce
Gensler's extraordinary vision into the complete re-imagination of this beloved
Boca icon,” noted Russ Flicker, managing member of AWH Partners, LLC., a joint
venture between August Group Ventures, LLC and Winston Harton Holdings, LLC.
Gensler
is a leading award-winning global architecture, design, planning, and strategic
consulting firm that partners with companies to achieve measurable business and
organizational goals through design. For more than 45 years, it has been a
pioneer in creating great places that enhance the quality of work and life.
Today, Gensler has more than 3,500 professionals networked across 43 locations.
During the last year, Gensler worked in 86 countries with 2,248 clients. Among
its most notable hotel designs are the Shore Hotel in Santa Monica, California;
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences and JW Marriott
at L.A. Live, Los Angeles, CA; and Hotel Monaco, a Kimpton boutique
hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“Gensler’s
team of architects, designers, planners and consultants dedicated to this
particular transformation recognize and understand the importance of embracing
local community nuances that make the Boca Raton destination desirable and
special,” added Matt Lane, partner in The Lane Organization. “The firm’s design
concepts celebrate a distinctive coming-of-age ‘sense of place’ while at the
same time aesthetically incorporates emerging trend-relevant regional and
global hospitality perspectives.”
Gregory Flis, Design Director
with Gensler who leads the Boca Raton Bridge Hotel project, shared that
preliminary concepts take inspiration from the hotel’s unique position directly
on the water.
“The new vision for the
property will create a distinctive hotel and restaurant destination that
appeals to all the senses,” noted Flis. “Guests and visitors will feel renewed
and fully-immersed in a sophisticated and comfortable atmosphere. It will have
a definite sense of place with an updated coastal vibe. Whether enjoying
breakfast on a balcony, an intimate dinner, or soaking up the ambiance of a
sunset, the setting will blend the sights, sounds and textures that make
memorable experiences. It will be authentically Boca, with a fresh
perspective.”
The
preliminary phase of the Bridge Hotel’s major “reinvention” plan to position
the property to luxury boutique hotel four-star status was launched in November
2012 with the construction of the hotel’s new “waterfront promenade” that
flanks the property’s entire Lake Boca perimeter.
The
hotel’s complete transformation led by Gensler will include the introduction of
entirely new hospitality and dining concepts, further expansion waterfront
amenities, and extensive reorientation and renovations of public spaces,
guestrooms, and restaurants. Reinvention plans will take optimal advantage of
the property’s most distinctive assets: its prime location -- on the
Intracoastal Waterway and Lake Boca with direct access to Atlantic Ocean -- and
its breathtaking water views.
“There
are always certain spots in any city that really just have something unique
going for them and this particular piece of property is one of those rare finds
in our city where the entire public as they boat or drive or take walks can
utilize the ambiance and see the beauty of the lake and the location,” noted
City of Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel at yesterday’s Boca Raton City Council
meeting. “All of Boca will be very, very proud and happy when this particular
property is renovated. The beauty of the property is really something to
behold.”
AWH
Partners, LLC, identifies and acquires outstanding assets in key locations that
require operational and physical repositioning to achieve their highest and
best use. The Bridge is an established community icon in an enviable locale
with a longtime history serving as the locals’ favorite “guesthouse” for
visiting friends, family, and colleagues. The acquisition afforded the
partnership the opportunity to return to South Florida to expand its presence
add another “hotel repositioning success story” to its burgeoning portfolio.
The Lane Organization LLC enters into cities to reposition assets and team up
with management firms who can assimilate to their locations while standing out
amongst the competition. Lane Hospitality, the management firm for the
Boca Raton Bridge Hotel and unrelated to the Lane Organization LLC, is
committed to preserving, protecting and enhancing the value of hotel real
estate, and provides expertise in all facets of hospitality management and
brand marketing.
The
Boca Raton Bridge Hotel, one of Palm Beach County’s boutique icon hotels with
panoramic water views from every guest room, is located where the Intracoastal
Waterway and Lake Boca Raton meet at 999 East Camino Real in Boca Raton. For
hotel reservations, visit www.bocaratonbridgehotel.com or call (561) 368-9500; for dining
updates at WaterColors or reservations for Carmen’s award-winning Sunday
Brunch, call (561) 886-4570 or visit www.opentable.com.
