Montgomery County Department of Economic Development Director Dr. Pradeep Ganguly and Conference and Visitor’s Bureau of Montgomery County Executive Director Kelly Groff joined with Hilton Hotel executives and other industry guests yesterday to celebrate the grand opening of the first dual-branded Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites hotel development project, located at 8728 Colesville Road in Silver Spring.

Homewood Suites by Hilton®,  the international brand of all-suite, residential-style hotels, and Hampton® Hotels, the international brand of more than 1,600 mid-priced Hampton Inn® and Hampton Inn & Suites® hotels now coexist as a 13-story hotel  boasting149 Hampton rooms on the lower eight floors and 90 Homewood studio suites on the top five floors. The hotel is owned by Milestone Hotel Partners, LLC and managed by Milestone Hospitality Management.

“The opening of this impressive new hotel concept right here in Silver Spring is great for Montgomery County’s hospitality industry,” said Ganguly. “It adds a unique amenity to the Downtown Silver Spring market and represents wonderful, positive development during these very tough economic times. Congratulations to Hilton, Milestone and all those who played a role in this exciting new endeavor.”

“Silver Spring has undergone such positive redevelopment over the past 10 years and the opening of this new hotel concept adds yet another showcase property and amenity to the growing, dynamic Downtown Silver Spring landscape and will most certainly benefit the County’s hospitably and tourism industry,” said Groff.

“The Hilton Family of Hotels recognized a need in both the upscale extended-stay and mid-priced hotel segments in the busy Washington D.C. metro area,” said Phil Cordell, senior vice president of Hampton brand management and global head of focused service brands for Hilton Hotels Corporation. “The Homewood and Hampton brands offer guests high-quality services and amenities at a value-conscious price point. We are thrilled to introduce this project in the high-profile Silver Spring market.”

The hotel splits its lobby between the brands, offering separate check-in desks and lodging and dining areas – each catering to the needs of their respective customers. Communal areas include meeting rooms, business center, and pool and workout room

“We are thrilled that the Hilton Family of Hotels has chosen to partner with Milestone to launch this one-of-a-kind project, which showcases adaptive reuse of an existing asset by converting a former office into an economically and environmentally efficient and unique hotel product,” said Mason W. Mednick, executive vice president of Milestone. “We believe that the project will serve as a template for future urban development, especially in markets where land is difficult to accumulate and barriers to entry are high.”

Built in 1969, the structure formerly housed the Computer Science Corporation in the 1970s. Vacant throughout the 1990s, the building was renovated and recently won the 2008 Architectural Conversion Award.