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ImageRimland Equities announced today that the new $25 Million boutique hotel being planned for downtown Ithaca will be managed by Gemstone Hotels and Resorts. Gemstone is a full-service hotel management company that specializes in managing and operating luxury and upscale hotels. It currently operates, manages or provides asset management services to hotels in cities such as New York, Chicago, Beverly Hills and Lake Tahoe and was ranked 22nd among the top 100 hotel management companies in 2007, according to Hotel Business Magazine.

The "Hotel Ithaca" will be located at the corner of State and Aurora Streets at the edge of the Ithaca Commons. The name for the hotel was chosen by Rimland Equities and Gemstone, and is a reference to the landmark Ithaca Hotel, which stood on the same property for decades, before being torn down as part of urban renewal in the 1960's.

Rimland Equities President and C.E.O. Jeffrey Rimland says, "The Gemstone Brand is an outstanding fit for downtown Ithaca and the surrounding community. Like Ithaca, Gemstone prides itself on operating hotels that offer unique and diverse experiences. Their plans for the Hotel Ithaca, combined with everything downtown has to offer and its urban atmosphere in a small town, will ensure that guests want to return to Ithaca again and again."

Rimland Equities will construct the hotel in accordance with LEED guidelines. It will then be managed by Gemstone Hotels and Resorts. Once constructed, the Hotel Ithaca will also operate under environmentally "green" standards. The nine-story full-service boutique hotel with over 100 luxury rooms and suites, and 2,000 feet of flexible meeting space, is currently undergoing final reviews by the City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board. It's expected to break ground in 2009 and open in 2011.

Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson says, "The City Council and other boards have been discussing this project, and moving it forward, over a couple years. It is anticipated by the City and downtown community alike that this addition will add to the vitality and prosperity of the Ithaca Commons."

Gemstone and Rimland also plan to pay tribute to another Ithaca tradition from the past, by naming the Hotel Ithaca's on-site dining and beverage establishment "Zinck's Bar".

Downtown Ithaca Alliance Executive Director Gary Ferguson says, "Gemstone is a name that downtowns across the country would like to have among their hotel managers. The addition of Gemstone to the other outstanding hotel brands and facilities in our downtown will truly help establish Ithaca as the premiere stop in the Finger Lakes. I'm very grateful to Rimland Equities for working so hard on downtown's behalf to attract Gemstone to Ithaca."

Gemstone Hotels and Resorts is a property management and asset management company based in Park City, UT. It specializes in managing and marketing luxury and upscale hotel and resort properties and their amenities. It also offers asset management services to them and currently directly manages or asset manages approximately 20 properties. Entrepreneur Magazine named Gemstone one of the 500 fastest growing companies in 2007

Rimland Equities is a Long Island-based developer of both commercial and residential properties.

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