The former Dewitt Clinton hotel in downtown Albany, NY, will be renovated into a 204-room, luxury Marriott Renaissance property for $48.5 million.  There are 160 Renaissance by Marriott hotels worldwide. The renovations, will take about a year, will bring new life to a 15-story building historic building at State and Eagle streets near the Capitol.
 A $4 million state grant will offset the costs to clean the exterior and upgrade the interior. Distinctive features will be preserved, such as a high-ceilinged lobby whose upper walls are decorated with murals depicting events in New York state history. A banquet facility, now called The State Room, will also be preserved, but there will no longer be ground-floor retail storefronts.
The property will add to the list of other full-service hotels to downtown Albany — the others are the Hilton Albany and 74 State. The plans for the Marriott, first reported today by The Business Review, are significant because the Renaissance brand is very selective, said Mr Joseph Nicolla, Columbia Development president.
