Urgo Hotels & Resorts and Ensemble Hotel Partners Break Ground on Marriott Ithaca, NY

A joint venture between Urgo Hotels & Resorts and Ensemble Hotel Partners announced the ground breaking of a 10-story, 159-room, full-service Marriott Hotel in downtown Ithaca, New York. Scheduled to open in Q3 of 2016, the hotel will be located at the eastern entrance to the Ithaca Commons, a newly renovated pedestrian indoor and outdoor mixed-use development and entertainment district anchoring Ithaca's downtown core.

The Ithaca Marriott will be the only Marriott-branded hotel in the area and the first new hotel in the center of Ithaca in almost 10 years.

"We saw an opportunity to provide a much needed amenity with high quality jobs in the Ithaca market," said Mathew Jalazo, director of development at Urgo Hotels. "This project is attractive from several vantage points, chief among them being the superior downtown location and the opportunity to be one of two branded hotels and the only Marriott in the heart of Ithaca. Market positioning, proximity to City Hall, Cornell University and Ithaca College, coupled with the Marriott brand's reservations systems, distribution channels and rewards program, its superior facilities and amenities, all give us tremendous confidence in this project.

"Given that the Ithaca Marriott is at the doorstep of Cornell University, one of the nation's most prestigious hospitality schools, we placed special emphasis on the architectural and interior design elements," said Jalazo. "We wanted a hotel that would reflect the local character of this charming town and complement the downtown businesses that make the Commons the center of community life in Ithaca."

The 159-room, full-service Marriott hotel features a 10-story design on 8,430 square feet of land with a state-of-the-art fitness center and signature restaurant with indoor/outdoor seating on the main level. The hotel will have approximately 3,000 square feet of meeting/function space with floor to ceiling windows, a prep area, and guestrooms on the second level and floors three through 10.

Cooper Carry of Atlanta, Ga., are the project's architects. Design Continuum is the interior design firm. W.H. Lane of Binghamton, N.Y., is the general contractor. Rimland Development contributed the land to the joint venture and is a partner.

About Ensemble Hotel Partners

Ensemble Investments, LLC ("Ensemble") is a privately-held firm specializing in commercial real estate investment, development, and management. Owners and Managing Directors Kam Babaoff, Michael Moskowitz, and Randy McGrane founded the company in 1990 and have since established a diverse portfolio consisting of hotel, medical, and general office assets through its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The company has established a portfolio containing over fifty commercial properties thus far.

Ensemble Hotel Partners has a long-standing history of maximizing investment returns through the development and repositioning of hotel assets, while adding value to their respective communities. A trusted partner, Ensemble consistently delivers superior hotel experiences and exceptional returns on investments among premium hotels across the country, making the company one of the industry's hospitality leaders. With its expertise and proven track record, Ensemble has fostered strategic partnerships with global brands and boutique operators to acquire, develop, and manage hospitality assets successfully in a constantly evolving market. Ensemble optimizes the long-term value of these assets by capitalizing on the management expertise of top hospitality professionals.