Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/101952
ICI •pg_14-18__BMT_pg3-58 12/21/12 3:02 AM Page 17 Outstanding Hotelier Award went to Gerald and Troy Alley of Con-Real, Inc. who own a Hilton Garden Inn Dallas/Arlington, TX. AAHOA and NABHOOD have been partners for years. They established this vital relationship in the early years of NABHOOD. The NABHOOD/AAHOA alliance is an unbreakable bond that has served both groups well. Members of the two groups have put several deals together. The NABHOOD Partnership Award winner was Alkesh Patel, Chairman of AAHOA. Starting next year, NABHOOD will present the Hank Thomas Freedom Rider Award. Thomas, who is retiring, is president of Victoria Hospitality properties, which owns and operates several Marriott franchises. The name "Freedom Rider" is of important historical significance and a tribute to Thomas. For those who need a little history lesson, Thomas was one of the original Freedom Riders during the civil rights movement. He's often said his greatest fear was when racist mobs set a bus on fire in Anniston, AL and forced the doors closed so no one could get off the bus – this coming from a Purple Heart recipient who served in Vietnam. MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Danforth Development Partners, LLC received approval from the Empire State Development Corporation to build a $143 million addition to the legendary Victoria Theater on 125th Street in Harlem. The plan calls for 360,000 sq. ft. to be built across two 26-story buildings that feature 299 apartments and 210 hotel rooms. They will sit atop a 25,000sq. ft. non-profit art complex that is replacing the theater, although the Victoria's lobby and fountain, built in 1917, will be preserved. This is expected to be the new home of the Classical Theater of Harlem, Jazzmobile, the Harlem Arts Alliance and the Apollo Theater Foundation. This project has been in the works for seven years, when officials began seeking a developer. They reached a deal with Danforth in 2007, but as has happened so often in recent years, financing difficulties due to the global recession delayed the project. Now that financing has been secured, a final public review process must take place before they can break ground. That's expected sometime in January of 2013. They have already garnered support from the Harlem Community Development Corporation (HCDC). "This will be one of the largest construction projects underway anywhere in New York City," says Wayne Benjamin(eb0, director of residential development for the HCDC. Danforth expects to break ground sometime in mid-2013. CALENDAR OF EVENTS South American Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference – September 10-11, 2012, The Westin Lima Hotel & Resort Convention Center, Lima, Peru African Hotel Investment Conference (AHIF), September 2526, 2012, Intercontinental Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya HVS Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference and Operations Summit (CHICOS) – November 8-9, 2012, The Atlantis Resort, Nassau, Bahamas National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers (NABHOOD), July 2013 (exact dates and location to be announced) BM&T ••• September/October 2012 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 17