NEW YORK CITY — Construction is under way on the world's tallest Holiday Inn — a 50-story hotel at 99 Washington St. in New York City. Designed by Gene Kaufman Architects (GKA), the 400-room hotel is situated just three blocks south of the World Trade Center site and is slated to play a role in the ongoing recovery of Lower Manhattan. McSam Hotel Group is developing the property.

"Ten years after 9/11, with the Memorial recently opened and forecast to be the number one tourist attraction in the entire nation, breaking ground in Lower Manhattan on the tallest Holiday Inn in the world is clear evidence that this is a renaissance of the newest, biggest and best," said Gene Kaufman, founder of GKA, in a prepared statement.

Holiday Inn will join the growing hotel landscape in Lower Manhattan, said Elizabeth Berger, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York, in a statement. According to a 2011 report by the alliance, the number of hotels in Lower Manhattan has tripled since 2001, going from six to 18. The number of hotel rooms rose to 4,029 from 2,300.

Tourism continues to thrive in the district. With about 10 million visitors last year, the occupancy rate in Lower Manhattan was in the mid-80 percent range in 2011, according to the report.

"Business travelers remain a significant market element, but the growth of leisure visitors and special events shows that Lower Manhattan is a destination of choice in the region, nationally and around the world," said Berger.

The exterior of the Holiday Inn will have a low-rise, contextual base that will blend with the surrounding streetscape. It will be topped with a dramatic tower, which will offer views of the city, the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty. Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman & Associates Architects is designing the facade.

The hotel will also include a full-service restaurant and bar, fitness center, meeting facilities and in-room Internet access. McSam Hotel Group is the project's developer and Gwathmey Sigel Kaufman & Associates Architect designed the facade. The hotel is slated for completion in October 2012.

-- Liz Burlingame