New Mixed-Use 50-Story Office Tower to Feature W Panama

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The Panama City skyline will be adding a 50-story tower in the heart of the city's financial district, including Central America's first W Hotel and premium office space.

The new mixed-use Evolution Tower was recently announced as part of an agreement between W Hotels Worldwide and Evolution Tower Corp, a joint venture between F & F Properties and EFC Group Inc.

"It has been a dream of ours to bring the W brand to a growing cosmopolitan city such as Panama," said Saul Faskha, President, Evolution Tower Corp. "We are very excited to be working on this new project."

Slated to open in early 2016, W Panama will be built on Calle 50, just steps away from Uruguay Street, which is known as the Zona Rosa of Panama and is bustling with stylish restaurants and nightclubs.

"Panama continues to see strong growth in both business and tourism development given its strategic location between North and South America and ease of access from around the world," said Osvaldo Librizzi, Co-President of the Americas, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. "We are excited to partner with Evolution Tower Corp, who has a strong presence in high-end construction and iconic developments. We are confident that this first W in Central America will become a new landmark in the city."

W Hotels is Starwood's contemporary, design-led lifestyle brand that now numbers 42 hotels and retreats worldwide, including 14 W-branded residences.

"As part of Starwood's overall growth strategy, we continue to focus on expanding our nine leading brands into vibrant cities around the world, such as Panama City," said Ricardo Suarez, Vice President of Latin America Acquisitions and Development for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. "This hotel will mark our ninth in Panama, and we are very pleased to add a new brand to Starwood's growing presence in the region."

In a perfect combination of sophistication and style, W Panama will reveal surprising elements layer by layer throughout the hotel. Panamanian architect Saul Bassan has created an exclusive design façade for the building, and Krause & Sawyer have been brought on board to lead interior design work for the hotel.

W Panama will offer a fully integrated, contemporary lifestyle experience, including 203 stylish guest rooms, with 24 suites, three Wow suites, and one Extreme Wow suite (the W brand's take on the Presidential Suite), two signature restaurants, the W Living Room experience (reinterpretation of the traditional hotel lobby), destination nightclub, WET pool deck, spa and 8,400 square foot fitness facility and 21,900 square feet of meeting and events space.

With excellent access to the airport as well as to other areas of interest within the city, the planned Evolution Tower will provide an impressive impact on the Panama City skyline, offering superb views of the city, and on high floors, the bay and Panama Canal.

With more than 12 years of proven success, W Hotels is on track to reach more than 50 hotels by the end of 2012. Elsewhere, W Hotels have been announced for world-class destinations such as Guangzhou, China,  Milan, Italy, Shanghai, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bangkok, Muscat, Mumbai, and Santa Fe, Mexico, while upcoming W Retreats include Verbier and Mexico's Riviera Maya.

Overall, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) counts 1,112 properties in 100 countries and territories with 154,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.