Bank of America Corporation and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., are developing a 150-room luxury hotel in Charlotte, NC. Scheduled to open in the Summer of 2009, the hotel will be located at the corner of North College and East Trade Streets next to the bank’s corporate headquarters. The hotel will be the first Ritz-Carlton in North Carolina.
"We are excited to be working with one of the finest hotel companies in the world to bring this investment to Charlotte, said Kenneth D. Lewis, chairman and CEO of Bank of America. "Having a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Uptown Charlotte will be great for our company’s business partners who often travel here. The arrival of Ritz-Carlton in our city also is one more important step in Charlotte’s emergence as a primary destination for American business and tourism.
"The Ritz-Carlton Charlotte at the Bank of America Corporate Center is an exceptional business venture between the two top leaders in the hospitality and financial industries, said Simon F. Cooper, Ritz-Carlton president and chief operating officer. "Bank of America could not be a more fitting corporate partner as we both are committed to the principles of a total quality approach to customer service.
"We look forward to serving the lodging and meeting needs of the bank’s customers, as well as other corporate and group guests traveling to Charlotte, a commercially thriving city with seven Fortune 500 companies, said Cooper, noting that this will be the second Ritz-Carlton hotel situated at a corporate global headquarters.
Bank of America engaged Colgate Development LLC to develop the hotel on its behalf. The design will be created by the architectural firm of Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart and Associates. Preliminary plans for the building include 120 deluxe rooms and 30 suites. A restaurant, bar and lobby lounge will offer several dining options for guests. A total of 13,600 square feet of conference space will include a 9,000 square foot Grand Ballroom; two smaller meeting rooms and a 600 square foot Board Room. A health club, spa services, indoor swimming pool, and retail shops are other hotel features.