3-09 B VIEW - Mobile Chamber of Commerce

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A new 81-room extended-stay hotel is under construction in downtown Mobile.
Developers plan to use most of the brick, iron and slate salvaged from the former
American National Bank building.
Maritime Center Provides a Boost for Job Training
The same type of training facility that
boosted employees for Alabama’s auto
industry is expected to do the same for the
Mobile region’s maritime industry, said
Gov. Bob Riley at the launch of the AIDT
Maritime Science Center, located on Pinto
Island, just south of the causeway.
Education and training at the center is
designed to transform students into workers
with the skills with the skills that the area
shipyards need.
Initiated by the Alabama Industrial
Development Training, the state’s training
facility and part of the two-year college
system, the $12 million multipurpose
training and education facility is expected to
train 700 to 800 people a year. It will also be
used by the Alabama Community College
System as well as individual companies for
specific training or contract projects.
Project partners included Atlantic Marine,
4 9.09 | The Business View | MoBiLE AREA ChAMBER of CoMMERCE
Boutique Hotel Offers a Mix of Modern
and Historic Features
When the new Candlewood Suites Hotel
is completed, it will have architectural
elements from the American National Bank
building that previously stood in the same
location. Mike Cowart of Cowart
Hospitality Services said during the
demolition of the bank, they were able to
salvage most of the brick, iron and slate
and will reuse those components on the
new property. Its final coat of paint might
be a familiar color, as it will be the same
yellow used on some of Spring Hill College’s
new buildings.
The joint venture partnership of Steve
Edmonds, owner of the Hampton Inn &
Suites Downtown, and Cowart broke ground
this summer on a $9 million, 50,000-
square-foot extended-stay hotel with
Austal USA, Bender Shipbuilding & Repair
and C&G Boat Works.
The 67,000-square-foot Maritime
Center will house welding shops, labs that
meet Occupational Safety and Health
Administration specifications, classrooms,
computer and electrical labs.
Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood’s
Montgomery and Mobile offices took the
project lead, providing architecture and
landscape, land surveying and civil,
81 rooms at the corner of Royal and
St. Louis streets. The hotel is a mid-scale
extended-stay facility, expected to be a
draw for temporary employees and those
relocating to the area, said Cowart.
Memphis-based architect Paul Lague
designed the property. Lague is the same
architect who designed the Hampton Inn &
Suites Downtown and the Homewood Suites
in Daphne.
Candlewood Suites will feature full
kitchens and green amenities such as a
solar- heated salt water pool. Candlewood
is associated with Inter Continental Hotels
Group, owners of the Holiday Inn and
Crowne Plaza brands.
geotechnical and environmental
engineering services.
Construction is expected to begin in
October with a fall 2010 completion date.
AIDT also expanded its Welding
Training Program at the Bryant Career
Technical Center in Irvington. Classes will
be conducted in customized mobile training
units with a goal of graduating 98
participants a year to feed the growing
maritime industry in south Mobile County.
An investment by the state’s Alabama Industrial Development Training will benefit the area’s maritime industry. Under construction on Pinto Island is a 67,000 square-foot
Maritime Science Center, and will have the resources to train 700-800 people annually.
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