Thriving Atlanta continues to please residents and visitors alike. The city is continuously announcing renovations and openings that strengthen Atlanta�s appeal. The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) serves to promote new attractions in Atlanta, hotel and facility renovations, and additional hospitality services to tourists and those attending conventions.

The Coca-Cola Company has donated land across from Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta for the Georgia Aquarium and a new World of Coca-Cola � creating a major entertainment destination in Atlanta�s convention corridor.

The five million gallon Georgia Aquarium, slated to open its doors to the public in 2005 along with the new World of Coca-Cola, is expected to make the northwest section of downtown Atlanta, already occupied by Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Dome, Philips Arena, the Tabernacle, CNN Center and CMA, a turnkey tourist attraction. Additionally, the plans should help create a 24-hour atmosphere in the area around Centennial Olympic Park that is developing into the hospitality, entertainment and residential heart of Atlanta and attract even more restaurants, retail, nightlife and other attractions to the area.

The Georgia Aquarium, at 5 million gallons and 400,000 square feet, will be among the largest and most elaborate in the nation with more than 50,000 freshwater and saltwater fish and mammals. The facility will house a banquet room with the capacity to seat 1,200 for dinner and more than 12,000 for a reception, all with an excellent view of the aquarium. A $200 million contribution by Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus has helped to underwrite what promises to be one of Atlanta�s greatest attractions.

World of Coca-Cola will be moving from its Underground Atlanta site to the new area beside the aquarium, sharing parking and a plaza area. The new World of Coca-Cola will be a larger, more interactive version of the current attraction, which has hosted more than 10 million visitors since opening in 1990.

AMERICASMART / ATLANTA has acquired the former Greyhound Lines terminal property on Andrew Young International Boulevard and will undertake a two million square foot expansion of its 6.2 million square foot wholesale trade mart complex. Preliminary design work has begun in preparation for an early 2005 groundbreaking. The Greyhound property acquisition follows an eight-year growth spurt for the facility, which houses the world�s largest single collection of consumer gift, home furnishings, area rug and apparel goods.

The new Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) opened its doors in April 2003. The $95 million facility encompasses the largest ballroom in the state of Georgia � 40,000 square feet � and the second largest convention facility in the state with at total of 400,000 square feet. The technology boasts T-1 access for high speed Internet connectivity that is faster than ISDN and DSL and offers more security than cable, with access available in all exhibit halls and meeting room spaces. In addition to the Convention Center, the new Gateway Center Office/Hotel Park development will include five hotels with 400 rooms each and two office buildings each with 80,000 square feet.

The completion of the Georgia World Congress Center�s (GWCC) Phase IV expansion added 420,000 square feet of exhibit space, 29 additional meeting rooms (75,000 square feet) and a 25,700 square-foot ballroom to the initial facility. The GWCC now offers a total of 3.9 million square feet of space comprised of 1.4 million square feet of prime exhibit space, 105 meeting rooms, three major entrance concourses, two grand ballrooms (33,000 and 25,700 square feet) and two landscaped plazas. This addition maintains the GWCC�s rank as one of the top five largest convention centers in the nation. The expansion is estimated to generate $1 billion in economic impact and $53 million in new tax revenue and to attract 400,000 additional out-of-state visitors to the Atlanta area.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently began construction on a $62.5 million visitor�s center highlighting the history of the CDC and educating visitors on the CDC�s operations around the globe. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about CDC�s work through a working laboratory where researchers handle the world�s most dangerous pathogens, a 100-foot screen showing films of major CDC programs, such as the fight against AIDS in Africa as well as more than 60 interactive exhibits. The center is expected to open in 2005.

The Atlantic Station project is a 140-acre environmental redevelopment and reclamation of the former Atlantic Steel Mill in Midtown Atlanta. Once complete, the development is projected to include 12 million square feet of retail, office, residential and hotel space as well as 11 acres of public parks. The new construction will be divided into three areas: The District, The Commons and Tech Village. The District will include 1 million square feet of open-air retail and entertainment, office space, loft apartments and town homes. Encircling a two-acre lake, The Commons will encompass the majority of the residential properties. The Tech Village will include mass retail locations surrounded by neighborhood shops, office space and loft style apartments. The grand opening of the $2 billion undertaking is scheduled for March 2004.

Expect to see a variety of improvements at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, including the name. Starting in January 2004, the airport will be renamed Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to accommodate both mayors, the late William B. Hartsfield and the late Maynard Jackson, both strong supporters of the airport and its continued growth. Other improvements include a $5.4 billion Development Program, which will identify, repair and upgrade designated areas within the airport�s facilities. Work began on a fifth runway in May 2003 with an expected completion date of late 2005. The fifth runway will accommodate commuter aircrafts and help eliminate congestion on the existing four runways. An additional passenger terminal will be built to allow passengers to access the landside without having to use an automated people mover. It will include access to roadway network, a parking structure, a provision for the southern MARTA extension to the terminal, and more. Enhanced road and rail access will be added and a consolidated rental car facility will be built to accommodate all rental car companies operating at the airport. Concourse E is expanding with 900,000 new square feet, including, international passenger ticketing facilities, ten additional gates, two levels of curb front parking and approximately 1,100 public parking spaces adjacent to the terminal. Lastly, an expanded airport people mover will access MARTA.

A new downtown shuttle service, The Atlanta Link, will take passengers from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to the downtown, Midtown, Buckhead and Emory University and Conference Center areas. The shuttle services will run twice an hour from 6 a.m. to midnight and will cost between $24 and $32 for round-trip tickets, roughly half the cost of taking a cab one way from the airport. Passengers and guests will be able to make Atlanta Link reservations via the Web site, by phone or through walkup service at the airport.

The Buckhead Community Improvement District (BCID), Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association (BATMA) and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority are planning a free Buckhead community shuttle, �The buc.� The initiative is an effort to improve accessibility and mobility in the Buckhead area and the shuttle will connect the area�s two MARTA stations with major hotels, retail centers and office buildings. Attraction Updates

� Piedmont Park will be home to a new Green Market, debuting April 17, 2004. In partnership with the City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, Piedmont Park Conservancy will host the market program each Saturday, through October 16, 2004, from 8 a.m. to noon near the park�s 12th Street entrance. The market comes as part of the Piedmont Park Centennial Celebration of 2004 and will feature high-quality, Georgia-grown produce and baked goods, food specialty items, fresh garden flowers and herbs. Weekly chef demonstrations will showcase the wide variety of products available at merchant booths. Market-goers will also be treated to musical entertainment, artwork, craft demonstrations and wine tastings. � The Atlanta History Center, the official repository for the Olympics archival collection, is scheduled to break ground March 2004 to begin construction on a new 20,000-square-foot wing dedicated to memorializing the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. The $10 million addition will be a highly interactive three-level museum and is expected to open in 2006 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Atlanta Games. The facility will occupy 7,500 square feet and offer an exploration of Atlanta�s Olympic legacy � how the Games came to take place here and changed the city. � The Woodruff Arts Center and the HIGH Museum of Art recently broke ground on a $130 million project to turn into world-class cultural destinations. The expansion project adds 177,000 square feet to the museum, more than doubling the size of the facility built by Richard Meier. Completed under Renzo Piano, the expansion will include two new galleries and an administration building for the High, a dormitory and sculpture studio for the Atlanta College of Art, an open-air piazza, a restaurant and a five-level parking garage. The three-building complex and piazza are projected to open in the spring 2005. � The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra announced that it will break ground on a new facility in 2005. The $240 million new home of the symphony will be on 6.2 acres at Peachtree and 14th streets. Plans call for an 836,000-square-foot office building with ground-level retail and a Symphony Center with 2,000 seats in the main hall, 350 seats in the chamber hall. Symphony officials chose Santiago Calatrava to design the new facility slated to open in 2008. � Imagine It! The Children�s Museum of Atlanta (CMA) opened its doors in March 2003. Located across the street from Centennial Olympic Park, CMA features hands-on, colorful exhibits and activities, in which children can look, listen, touch and explore as they learn how things work in their world. The 30,000 square foot space helps expand children�s minds using proven sensory learning techniques. � The Georgia Dome has opened its doors for public tours. Falcons� fans can catch a glimpse of the Falcon�s locker room, strategize from the Observatory Deck where coaches, coordinators and officials see all of the action, call plays from the press box or produce pre-game and half-time entertainment in the Dome Productions Studio. Tours run on the hour from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday during regular football season. � SciTrek, Atlanta�s science and technology museum, has unveiled the newest addition to its facility � the Challenger Learning Center. The Challenger Learning Center is part of an international network started by the families of the Challenger Mission astronauts that enables visitors to fly simulated space missions. The core of the center is a two-room simulator consisting of a space station complete with communications, medical, life, and computer science equipment, and a mission control room. � Stone Mountain Park will debut the sightseeing experience, Ride the Ducks Adventure, this April. Visitors will embark on a 40 minute tour, on land and in water, throughout the park. The tour includes interesting information about the park, Atlanta and Georgia. The World War II vehicle commonly known as a �Duck,� receiving the name from the model designation �DUKW,� has been converted into a comfortable open-air vehicle, which moves easily from land to water. Also be on the lookout for the coming attraction Treehouse Challenge. Opening Memorial Day weekend, this ultimate kids� adventure has two dueling tree houses where boys and girls may join forces to compete against the opposite gender for bragging rights. Each house is three stories high and features over three dozen interactive activities and challenges. A giant scoreboard keeps track of activity points and declares either �Boys Rule� or �Girls Rule� every ten minutes, depending on the point distribution. While visiting the park, don�t miss the New Confederate Hall Historical and Environmental Education Center, opening at the end of March. The focus of the new facility is to educate park guests about the fascinating geology and ecology of Stone Mountain. Be sure to catch the recently completed The Great Barn, where children can explore Southern farm life of the 1800s through interactive adventures, and Crossroads, a reconstruction of a small Georgia town from the 1870s. The whole family will enjoy the Tall Tales 4-D Theatre and more. � AtlanTIX, the South�s first day-of-show, half-price ticket booth, now includes full-price online ticket sales. The site, www.atlantaperforms.com, now provides consumers with a user-friendly, online box office with tickets to shows and cultural arts events throughout greater Atlanta. The new online service compliments the existing day-of-show, half-price ticket booth walk up service located at Underground Atlanta. � The John A. Sibley Horticultural Center at Callaway Gardens is reopened in October 2003 after a $3.5 million renovation including additions such as a new glass roof, a new ventilation system and a sophisticated, automated environmental controls system to operate the heating, ventilation, shading and lighting. The Sibley Center received new walkways, enhanced seating areas and a redesigned rock wall garden. Special areas for children were installed such as a Fun Trail that takes children on an off-the-beaten-path and a child-size English hedge maze with whimsical features. � Oakland Cemetery, final resting place of: Atlanta�s founders, golf pro Bobby Jones, and Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell is being rejuvenated. A pedestrian greenway will be constructed to extend from the gates of Oakland to the State Capitol, The Oakland Promenade, creating an inviting pathway that leads directly from the bustle of downtown to the serenity of Oakland.

Hotel Additions and Renovations

� The Four Seasons Hotel recently completed a $700,000 renovation of all its hallways on the hotel�s 15 guest floors. Renovations include new carpet, wall-coverings, paint schemes, new furniture and accent pieces, wall-mounted sconces and overhead chandeliers. � The Holiday Inn Select on Capitol Avenue has undergone a $6 million renovation. The hotel, which is the closest full-service hotel to Turner Field and the Capitol, now boasts marble counters in the bathrooms, new bedding, a redecorated bar and restaurant and a high-tech business center among other things. Meeting space has also been improved to accommodate special events and corporate functions. � Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.) and Omni Hotels, together, have announced the completion of a 28-story hotel tower adjacent to the existing 15-story Omni Hotel at CNN Center. The property now features 1,067 guestrooms and over 120,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space. The $100 million expansion establishes the Omni Hotel at CNN Center as one of the leading convention hotels in the Southeast. The expansion and renovation project will accommodate the continuing influx of visitors to CNN Center as well as Philips Arena, the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) and the Georgia Dome, all of which are within walking distance of the hotel. The new tower opened in November 2003. � The Swissotel became the Westin Buckhead Atlanta as it was re-flagged in January 2004. The Four-Diamond deluxe hotel completed a host of upgrades and features 365 rooms and 11 suites on 22 floors, as well as the largest grand ballroom in Buckhead. The hotel lobby remains the home of the world-renowned Palm restaurant. � Atlanta prepares for its first InterContinental hotel and its first five-star hotel addition since 1992 as InterContinental Hotels, Inc. constructs a new hotel tower in Buckhead. The tower will be built across Peachtree Road from the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in a vacant lot adjacent to the Atlanta Financial Center. Scheduled to open in 2004, the new facility will focus on service for business travelers. The 21-story will feature 401 guest rooms, 21 suites, 26,000 square feet of meeting space, a 6,185-square-foot junior ballroom and a 12,000 square-foot grand ballroom. The new facility will also include a 160-seat restaurant with an exterior terrace along Peachtree Road, a day spa and health club, an outdoor pool and a lounge area. � Another prominent addition, Atlanta�s second W hotel, will add to the charm and elegance of Buckhead. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide plans for a 38-story, 225-room hotel on the Lenox Road. W Buckhead will feature a 200-seat restaurant, a 33,000-square-foot spa and health club and a 3,600-square-foot ballroom, according to the plans. The structure also will have space for a 350-seat eatery that could be leased by a restaurateur. � Atlanta-based Holiday Inn is using the Gwinnett Center location as testing ground for the ways it will makeover the brand�s look and feel. The new look consists of contemporary furniture, vintage artwork, granite countertops, high-speed Internet connections and showers almost large enough to sleep in. The rooms are not the only places the makeover is striking. The Gwinnett hotel comes complete with a minimalist lobby framed by Makore wood veneer and the restaurant features 15-inch flat screen TVs, one in each booth, and menus on portable computer tablets. The Holiday Inn is part of the InterContinental Hotels Group. � The Sheraton Atlanta Hotel recently broke ground on a 33,000 sq. ft. conference center, supplementing the current 50,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space. The new facility will include a 15,000 sq. ft. ballroom, 8,000 sq. ft. of pre-function space as well as a 6,000 sq. ft. conference area with four break-out rooms and will allow the hotel to accommodate 800 guests banquet style. Once completed, the hotel will offer a combined 83,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space and 760 guest rooms and suites, making it the fifth largest hotel in Atlanta. The new conference center is schedule to open in mid-summer 2004. � The Hyatt Regency Atlanta recently completed $15.4 million in renovations to its guest room product. The 750 Atrium Tower guestrooms received new carpeting, wall coverings, furnishings, drapes, lighting, closets and artwork. In addition, HRA is piloting a premium-bedding concept for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, which includes pillow top mattresses, fitted sheets, down comforters and bolsters. The bathrooms in the Atrium Tower received a makeover including new wall coverings, mirrors, lighting and shower curtains. The property recently installed high-speed wireless internet in all 1,260 guest rooms at the hotel. � The Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel recently announced plans for a $5.5 million enhancement of the entire Exhibit Level also referred to as the International Hall. After the renovations the hotel will utilize its current exhibit space allowing for a quick conversion of this area from exhibit space to class "A" meeting space and break out rooms. This reconstruction will add 7,000 square-feet of contiguous meeting space, creating a new "junior ballroom" without actually adding onto the current structure. Every inch of the 37,000 square-foot exhibit area will receive new carpet, lighting, ceiling treatments and state-of-the-art room dividers. The current North Hall will gain three solid walled, permanent meeting rooms, decorative wood wall treatments and high tech lighting. The reconstruction will offer greater meeting flexibility and more options to planners than ever before. The flexible meeting space will feature more than 125,000 square-feet. � In September 2002 The Resort at Callaway opened the Southern Pine Conference Center and cottage complex. This 54,000 sq. ft. of meeting facility includes 22,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, a new 150-seat restaurant, lounge and gift shop. Surrounded by woodland gardens and lakes, the $12.6 million executive-level conference center follows the Callaway tradition of blending design with nature.

Restaurant News

� Local chef and restaurateur Richard Blais returns to his roots after gaining acclaim across the US, from New York to Napa Valley to Berkeley. He recently opened BLAIS, located in Buckhead. He describes the menu as �inspired American,� explaining that most of the fair is a creative takeoff on nostalgic American food. As for decor, instead of hanging artwork on the walls, diners can watch the action as it unfolds in the kitchen via several large, flat-screen televisions throughout the space. � Atlanta welcomes a new restaurant to the downtown dining scene as LUXE opened its doors in early September. Occupying the former Mumbo Jumbo space, LUXE offers modern American cuisine with a Mediterranean influence. The restaurant interior features a wall length banquette in the main dining room covered in leather and a granite bar top. The upstairs area allows for private dining and events, accommodating up to 75 guests. � Famous chef Wolfgang Puck enters the Atlanta market with a fast casual caf� in the Brookwood Place shopping center on Peachtree Road in South Buckhead. Wolfgang Puck Express, which will offer salads, soup, sandwiches and pizzas for lunch and dinner, offers catering and takeout. � World-renowned chef and media personality Emeril Lagasse will open his newest restaurant in Atlanta this summer. Emeril's Restaurant Atlanta will occupy the ground floor in One Alliance Center. Like at Lagasse's flagship restaurant, Emeril's in New Orleans, the menu will feature what Lagasse calls "new" New Orleans cuisine, Creole cuisine combined with a variety of ethnic influences. The 6,000-square-foot dining room features a soaring, semicircular wine tower with banquettes snuggled inside and an open kitchen framed by back-lit panels of spices and foods such as star anise, red lentils and black beans. � Restaurateur Paul Luna, renowned for creating innovative culinary experiences, has opened his first restaurant in downtown Atlanta on the grounds of Wyndham Atlanta. Lunatique, a casual eatery centering on Tapas-style dining, is perfectly situated in the heart of downtown Atlanta and within walking distance of Olympic park, Philips Arena, CNN Center, and the Georgia World Congress Center. � The Feed Store restaurant and bar has reopened in downtown College Park, serving upscale steak and fish. The building, on the National Register of Historic Places, can seat up to 184 guests in the dining room. The bar, known as the Stock Room, boasts a separate entrance and can accommodate 30 guests.

Established in 1913, the ACVB is a private, non-profit organization created exclusively to market metro Atlanta and Georgia as the premier conventions, meetings and leisure destination in the regional, national and international marketplace, and favorably impact the Atlanta economy through conventions and tourism.

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Media Contact: Brandy Humphries +1 404-521-6645 bhumphries@atlanta.net