The developers behind a new Virgin Hotel in downtown New Orleans are scheduled to break ground on the $55 Million project in April.

Dallas-based Gatehouse Capital and David Garcia of DAG Development are the developers.  The new hotel at 550 Baronne Street will rise 14 stories and include 225-rooms, a ground floor restaurant, a 2,500-square-foot ballroom, a few thousand feet of meeting space, and a rooftop pool and fitness center.  According to plans filed with the city, the hotel will cost $55 million to build.

“New Orleans is an incredibly special city and one Virgin Hotels has had an eye on from the beginning,” Virgin Hotels CEO Raul Leal said in a news release. “We’re excited to bring the Virgin experience to the Big Easy because it’s a perfect fit in terms of our values and our emphasis on creating unique and immersive experiences for our guests.”

The August 2015, the City Council voted 5-1 to approve the proposed Virgin Hotel.  The development had previously been denied by the City Planning Commission because the developers were seeking to build a tower taller than what zoning allowed.  The new building will be 148 feet tall, over the zoned limited of 125 feet.

Parking will be provided via valet parking at the new 569-space parking garage at the corner of O’Keefe Avenue and Perdido Street, owned by Downtown Star LLC, the same owner as 550 Baronne.