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April 13, 2009
What’s green, larger and has a bowling alley?

By David Payne

Kathy Johnson is the general manager of the Emory Conference Center Hotel, but these days she feels more like a construction foreman, a runner and clock watcher.

Johnson is just days away from opening what will be one of the largest, and the “greenest” conference center hotels in metro Atlanta. In addition to her duties, she makes a daily run through the construction site for progress updates, all the while keeping one eye on the calendar.

By May 1 — and the date is non-negotiable, since events have been scheduled at the expanded facility for over two years now — she will oversee the addition of 127 new guest rooms, 6,000-square-feet of meeting space, a ballroom, state-of-the-art seminar, meeting and board rooms, and a bowling alley complete with retro decor. And that’s just in the new addition.

Nearly 200 existing rooms and suites have all been completely renovated, as have the health club facilities, the indoor pool, and the club room off the main lobby, which was remodeled in a decidedly Mission-style.
Johnson is particularly proud that the new addition is being built to achieve LEED Silver certification, the only conference center hotel with this green designation in metro Atlanta.

As construction crews work feverously around her, she doesn’t sound worried about the impending deadline. “I’m confident the project will be done in time, and am looking forward to clearing out the construction equipment and putting the finishing touches on the facility.”

The conference center hotel (www.emoryconferencecenter.com), a longtime favorite for Emory, CDC and other business travelers, is nestled deep within 26 acres of forest preserve at 1615 Clifton Road. Inspired by the architectural design of Frank Lloyd Wright, it is the only such property in Georgia certified by Green Seal Inc., an established, nonprofit, environmental certification organization.