Houston officials have chosen Rida Development Corp. to build the new 1,000-room convention center hotel adjacent to the George R. Brown.

The hotel will be developed on the block immediately north of Discovery Green and attached via a skybridge to the convention center.

Houston-based Rida will team up with Morris Architects, a well-established local firm with almost 75 years of experience in the Houston area.

"We are so excited to be developing this transformational hotel in our home city of Houston. We look forward to the day when Houston competes among the best convention destinations in the United States," says Ira Mitzner, president of Rida.

"This new convention center hotel will increase our convention business and bring new energy to the city's convention district," says Ric Campo, chairman of Houston First Corp., which evaluated the 11 proposals and made the selection. "The hotel will bring significant sales resources for the convention market and will be a welcome addition to the Houston sales teams."

Houston First will also begin a process later this year to construct a parking garage at the north end of the GRB. The parking garage will have approximately 1,800 spaces, contain first-floor retail space and will serve both the public and the new convention hotel.