Capital to get its first new hotel in decades.

With the topping off this week of the new Hampton Inn & Suites, downtown Albany's first new lodging construction project in over 20 years is on schedule for its opening in the fall of 2005.

Now that the facade of the 10-story, 110,000 s/f structure is topped off, the roof is scheduled to go up within the next few weeks.

"Once again, Omni is proud to add to the skyline of Albany, with a design that incorporates architectural features that complement Albany's history," said I. David Swawite, president and chief operating officer of Omni Development Company, Inc. "Once the exterior is complete, Omni will continue and complete the interior work on the 118 deluxe guest rooms and 47 suites. Inside, the hotel will feature 21st century telecommunications technology with fiber-optic wiring and high-speed Internet access."

Hampton Inn & Suites will offer a unique lodging opportunity for Albany's extended stay guests and traditional transient business and leisure travelers. The Hilton branded Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Albany will offer two meeting rooms and two board rooms with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment with closed-circuit video conference capabilities, a fitness center with both a sauna and steam room, and a restaurant.

The architects for the project are Bounds & Gillespie, of Memphis, Tenn., who were selected for their extensive hotel design expertise, including more than 100 Hampton properties.

The hotel will be managed on a day-to-day basis by Vista Host, Inc. Supervisory hotel management will be provided by Omni Management Group, Ltd.