Peabody to hold 'topping off' ceremony

The Peabody Hotel Group plans to hold a “topping off” ceremony on the new 35-story, guest tower at the Peabody Orlando on Nov. 11.

The industry tradition, which will celebrate the completion of the concrete shell of the building, also will include a tribute to Veteran’s Day, as a 20-by-38-foot American flag is expected to be flown from the tower’s 30th story, said a news release.

The event also will feature a red carpet march of the Peabody ducks, the release said.

The new 690,000-square-foot, 750-room guest tower will nearly double the Peabody’s previous room capacity. The $450 million expansion also includes a 450,000-square-foot addition to the hotel’s existing convention space, renovation of 57,000 square feet of existing public areas, a 15,000-square-foot upscale spa and a grotto-style pool complex, an English garden, a hiking trail, boutiques and a new restaurant building, along with a 2,200-space parking garage.

The project is slated for a January 2011 completion, with the convention center space being the first to open in July 2010.

Winter Park-based SCA Design Group was the project architect, and Balfour Beatty Construction in Orlando is the general contractor.