A planning application has been submitted to build a Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Par-La-Ville car park creating 330 new jobs and injecting $200 million into the economy.

The proposed hotel would have street level boutique shops along Church Street and Par-La-Ville Road, 150 guest rooms and suites and a further 60 luxury residential apartments including roof top gardens and a swimming pool.

With its prime position in the centre of Hamilton?s financial district and directly across the road from the Bermuda Stock Exchange, it is anticipated the hotel will attract a high proportion of business clientele.

There will be landscaped grounds to the rear and a 20,000 sq ft underground conference hall ? another tilt at the corporate and business market that will be key to the success of the venture, which is being pitched as a business hotel and residence.

Two ?world class restaurants? are to be included ? on the top floor a lounge and grill would look out from one corner, enjoying commanding views towards City Hall and the heart of the Hamilton.

Backers of the ambitious idea, which is headed on the Island by United Resorts, say a public announcement will be made very soon.

The idea of building a hotel on the car park at the corner of Church Street and Par-La-Ville has been in existence for years but has suffered a number of stalled efforts despite speculative interest previously shown by the prestigious Regent Hotel group.

In the latest proposal the hotel would be 135ft high with seven storeys above ground level and incorporating features within the roof space.

It would have three levels of underground parking for 500 cars, a central outdoor courtyard and a small amphitheatre and fountain area at the rear that links to the Par-La-Ville public park.

The Corporation of Hamilton has extended the developers? exclusivity period for the site until December 29 this year.

The developers are eager to move forward and have asked for the planning process to be speeded up after lodging the proposal with the Department of Planning.

?We believe the opportunity to have a Ritz-Carlton hotel built in Bermuda is of such significance to the Island?s future as an international business centre and a high quality tourist resort, that the planning process for the ?in principle approval? should be accelerated as much as possible,? asks Theodore A. Adams III, of United Resorts Inc, in a letter accompanying the application.

According to Mr. Adams the project follows guidelines prepared by former Tourism Minister and now Premier-elect Ewart Brown and the Corporation of Hamilton?s development brief.

The Par-La-Ville public park would be extended slightly northwards in ?overpasses? to the hotel and connect directly to the hotel?s courtyard.

There would be 15,000 square feet of shops and the 60 apartments, varying in size between one, two and three-bedrooms, would be for sale to Bermudians and non-Bermudians.

A United Resorts Inc representative said there was no public statement on the scheme at this moment but anticipated a joint announcement with the various parties involved in the very near future.