What's the latest with the second Westgate tower and home to the future Marriott hotel?
At the beginning of March this year, the Westgate complex in Split, which includes two skyscrapers that, apart from the OTP Bank, will see the Marriott hotel chain, received the approval from the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning to increase the second tower in height. Shortly after, the City of Split issued a permit for the new ten floors of Tower B, which in the meantime has been named "Dalmatia", reports Dalmacija Danas on May 29, 2018.
On the day the Croatian Government met in Split, they announced that the first Croatian hotel from the world's largest "Marriott" will open its doors in June 2019, which we will see operate in a 27-floor skyscraper that is over 100 meters, and which will become the tallest building in Croatia.
Investor Josip Komar has spoken about the exciting project in Split.
Work on Tower B has intensified. How long will it take to be built, how high will it be, and is it true that it will be the tallest building in Croatia?
“The completion of the facility and the opening of the hotel is planned for the middle of summer 2019, and the construction of the ‘Dalmatia’ tower, will give Split the tallest building in Croatia. Today, the Zagreb cathedral, which is 108 meters high, is the tallest, while the Split tower will be 115 meters high and will consist of a ground floor and 27 floors.”
Will the citizens, that is, those who are not guests of the hotel, be allowed access to the top of the building once it is finished? According to our assumptions, this will be a sight-seeing point without competition in Split and beyond.
"I agree, this will truly be an attraction. We absolutely want the people of Split to experience and enjoy the view of the city from a new perspective, so we plan to open it to the public. In some ways, this is our gift to the local community as well as to the city as the viewpoint will be an additional tourist attraction in Split."
The Courtyard by Marriott chain will come into the building. What will this mean for Split and Dalmatia tourism?
"This will mean a lot because it's the largest hotel chain in the world. Instead of opening the first hotel in the capital, as they usually do, they recognized Split as the best destination to start business development in Croatia. From next summer, more than 100 million members of Marriott's loyalty program will finally be able to choose Croatia as part of their offer. These are huge numbers, and most of those guests prefer to stay at Marriott hotels."
Why did you choose to name the tower ‘Dalmatia’?
"The tower is named after Dalmatia, and on foreign markets, this will be communicated in English as the ‘Dalmatia Tower’ because Split has all the predispositions to become a powerful engine of the development of Dalmatia."
How many people will be employed in the new building?
"The hotel itself will probably employ 80 people, but how many people will work in the facility is hard to estimate. Courtyard by Marriott will be located on the upper floors, from the 16th to the 26th floor, and despite the great interest of the recognized international companies we are negotiating with, we have not signed contracts with any of them on the permanent lease of business premises on the first 16 floors. We will make that decision in the fall."
As an investor, do you have the support of the City of Split?
"We have very good cooperation with the City of Split, the competent services, and the Mayor Opara, and I would like to emphasize that we are realizing the project with the help of HABOR and the Agency for Investment and Competitiveness (AIK),” Komar concluded.
