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The company will develop the Murphy House into the state’s third Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel — joining The Ely- ton in Birmingham and The Grand Bohemian in Mountain Brook. The luxury, boutique hotel will boast 100 rooms and suites, while also offering dining and corporate meeting space. “With supply climbing exponentially higher — especially within the past two years, our hotel demand in Montgomery remains steady and among the highest hotel occupancy rates in the state," Mayor Todd Strange said. "The growing invest- ment and interest from developers speaks to the overall health and vitality of our hospitality industry, while also indicative of the confidence businesses and investors hold in Montgomery’s future.” The Autograph Montgomery is only the latest project in the area for Ascent Hospitality President and Co-founder, John Tampa. Tampa’s company, which has a track record of success- ful renovations of unique and historic buildings, developed the Hampton Inn and Suites Montgomery-Downtown, the Dou- bleTree by Hilton Hotel Montgomery Downtown and is in the process of renovating the old Bishop-Parker Warehouse build- ing on Coosa Street. Built in 1851 for wealthy cotton broker John Murphy, the Murphy House is one of two remaining antebellum buildings in the neighborhood. It was home to the Beauvoir Club as well as an Elks Lodge before serving as a VFW club in the 1950s. Facing the threat of destruction, the Montgomery Water Works and Sanitary Sewer Board worked with the Landmarks Foun- dation to save the building in 1970, preserving its historic in- tegrity while utilizing the space as an office. The Murphy House was added to the National Registry of Historic Places on March 24, 1972. “The increase in hotels and our strong tourism industry is important not only for revenue creation, but it affects overall quality of life for our residents,” Mayor Strange said. “When visitors come and enjoy their stay here that means Montgomery achieves better brand awareness and attracts more events, conferences and festivals, which then boosts our revenue to helps us pave more streets, add more public safety professionals or fund worthy programs for youth. Better brand awareness can also factor in to a large company’s decision to locate to the River Region.” ^ Find us on Facebook and Instagram JUNE 2018 53