ORLANDO, FLORIDA (March 23, 2006) - Hunt Construction Group, the nation's #2 hospitality builder (Engineering News-Record), has been awarded the $800 million (±$500 million construction cost) Palazzo del Lago ("Palace on the Lake") in Orlando. This luxury flagship hotel with the InterContinental Hotels Group will be the world's largest InterContinental Hotel and is being developed by Hospitality Development Group. Hunt is continuing with the preconstruction services that commenced in October 2005 in anticipation that Phase 1 construction will start in the fall of this year. Opening is currently scheduled for early 2009.

The Palazzo del Lago will be constructed on South International Drive and is the first official hotel of the Orange County Convention Center. Hunt's scope of work for this site will include the construction of five 18-story condominium towers flanked by the 14-story InterContinental Hotel consisting of 1,260 total rooms. This one-of-a-kind resort will offer such amenities as a destination spa, 5 themed restaurants, a total of 114,000 square feet of convention space that includes banquet and meeting spaces, a large outdoor water feature and 300 yards of lakefront beach.

Hunt Construction Group was the construction manager of the Orange County Convention Center Phase V Expansion that was completed in 2003 at a construction cost of nearly $520 million for a total of 3,037,725 square feet.

Other Hunt Construction Group Orlando hospitality projects include Grande Lakes Orlando, which is a JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton resort and spa, the Hard Rock Hotel, and the Renaissance Orlando Resort at SeaWorld. Additionally, Hunt will break ground sometime this year on the new Resorts at Bonnet Creek.