Developer: Three hotels vying for flag in new downtown tower
Excerpt from article By Laura Kinsler
Grothspotter | Aug 21, 2020 at 5:33 PM
"Summa Development Group Principals Albert Socol and Marlene Weiss have promised to bring downtown Orlando’s first 5-star convention hotel to the central business district as part of the new mixed-use tower at 319 E. Church St. The plans call for 129 branded
residences – a combination of 102 condominiums and 27 penthouse units over the hotel.
The husband-and-wife developers and lead architect Steve Cavanaugh of DLR Group met via teleconference with the city’s AppearancevReview Board Thursday to get the city’s initial feedback on the design.
During the meeting, Weiss explained the purpose for the solid band that separates the hotel from the luxury condos on the upper floors, which
one ARB member likened to a waistband.
”The band that’s in between the hotel and condo space intentionally is left blank for the famous name of the hotel we’re going to get, which
right now we have three fighting for,” Weiss said.
The condominiums will share the same branding as the hotel and will be built with the same 5-star finishes, Socol said.
Cavanaugh) described the inspiration and design process he engaged in with the clients to come up with a building that emphasized fluid curves, transparency and elegance. “We started to think of the project as almost like a sculptural piece on top of a pedestal – the pedestal being the podium of the project,” he said."