November 10, 2003

After months of construction, the new 28-story expansion to Omni Hotel at CNN Center is complete and ready to welcome visitors. Located across just across from CNN Center and next door to the Georgia World Congress Center, the project's completion is a milestone in the redevelopment of the eastern edge of Atlanta's downtown convention and entertainment district.

The hotel's 600-room addition will be followed in April by the opening of a reconstructed eastern plaza for the Georgia World Congress Center. The $3.8 million project will create green space, benches and a walking plaza between the Omni and Centennial Olympic Park, said Jim McAuliffe, a partner at Culpepper, McAuliffe and Meaders, a consultant on the plaza project and architect of the new hotel tower.

Capping the redevelopment in June will be the completion of a new, renovated four-lane Andrew Young International Boulevard. The road, which runs between the Omni and its addition as well as Philips Arena and the GWCC, replaces the old one, which had dips because it was not built up to grade, McAuliffe said.

- "Omni Hotel set to open new tower,"
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/6/03

The $100 million expansion will establish Omni Hotel at CNN Center as one of the leading convention hotels in the southeast, according to Jim Caldwell, President of Omni Hotels, quoted on Omni Hotels web site.

"This multi-million dollar expansion, combined with the hotel's recent renovations, will make the Omni Hotel at CNN Center the premier Atlanta hotel facility in terms of the quality of service and amenities, in addition to its size and central location," said Caldwell. "Omni Hotels is pleased to be working with Turner Broadcasting System and Culpepper, McAuliffe and Meaders, Inc. on this unprecedented development project, which reflects Omni Hotels' commitment to setting new standards in the luxury hotel category."

The Omni Hotel is a participant in CAP/ADID's Let's Do the Holidays Downtown promotion.