As part of its $1.5 billion expansion, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood has commenced construction of a guitar-shaped hotel that, when finished in summer 2019, will serve as the resort’s centerpiece.
Designed to appear like back-to-back guitars, the new hotel will reach 450 ft. on both sides. The project will add 974 new guestrooms and suites, with 806 from the guitar hotel tower and 168 from a seven-story pool tower. Other guest amenities to be constructed includes restaurants, lounges, a business center and a 41,000 sq. ft. spa.
A Hard Rock Casino nearly double the size of the existing casino will also be built. It will house 3,267 slot machines, 178 table games such as blackjack and baccarat, and an 18,000 sq. ft. poker room. The expansion will also include the $100 million-worth renovation of the Hard Rock Live venue and the construction of 60,000 sq. ft. of retail and restaurant space.
The Live venue will be demolished in March 2018. Its 5,500 seats will be replaced by 7,000 seats in theater-style configuration. Designed by Sceno Plus, the arena will have its own television studio and broadcast center. It is expected to open in middle of 2019.
The project will bring in more jobs to Florida, giving the local economy a boost. “We’re creating 3,000 additional permanent jobs,” said James Allen, Seminole gaming CEO and chairman of Hard Rock International. “We’re creating over 2,000 construction jobs so we’re truly creating an additional economic engine here in South Florida.”
Allen will work with Klai Juba Wald Architects to develop the tower. Other firms joining the expansion project team are Rockwell Group from New York, EDSA from Fort Lauderdale, Wilson Associates from Dallas, Wimberly Interiors from Coral Gables, Cleo Design from Las Vegas, and Laurence Lee Associates from Los Angeles. The construction is currently being handled by Suffolk-Yates.