ATLANTA—Beltway Investment International, Smart Hotels and Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) have formed a joint venture to develop the first hotel on the Atlanta BeltLine. The $30-million to $35-million project will be in the Old Fourth Ward (O4W), minutes from downtown. The 140-room, high-end boutique hotel, located on the corner of Irwin St. and Auburn Ave., will have direct access to the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail, and be within walking distance to the Martin Luther Jr King Historic Site, Krog Street Market and the Inman Quarter. The planned hotel design will draw from O4W architecture and be locally inspired by the in-town neighborhood’s urban setting, culture, community, art and entertainment, according to HVMG.
The Old Fourth Ward is a historic Atlanta neighborhood, manufacturing district and birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. The hotel site is adjacent to Studioplex, one of the city’s earliest adaptive reuse renovation projects (housing 130 contemporary urban live and workspaces). Originally purchased and developed by the Historic District Development Corporation (founded in 1980 by Coretta Scott King to preserve, revitalize and maintain diversity in the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic District) in 2000, Studioplex, an Atlanta landmark, is the inspiration for the hotel’s design, according to HVMG.
The Atlanta BeltLine is a sustainable redevelopment project consisting of a network of multi-use trails, public parks and transit alongside a 22-mile railroad corridor. Circling downtown Atlanta, the Beltline directly connects 45 Atlanta in-town neighborhoods.
“The Old Fourth Ward and the Atlanta BeltLine project are successful national achievements in urban redevelopment,” said Christopher Plockelman, managing director of Beltway Investment International. “The only thing missing from this multidimensional effort is a hotel that reflects the area’s history and provides an original and unique vision for Atlanta’s future. The boutique hotel will be a fully integrated exclamation point on the BeltLine, the first choice hotel for travelers and a social centerpiece for residents and the community.”
The hotel will feature a rooftop bar with views of the city skyline, two restaurants and, as a nod to Atlanta’s growing reputation as a film and television location, a screening room. Early specifications indicate the hotel also will feature an eating, drinking and shopping promenade facing the Beltline; an underground parking garage; and approximately 3,500 sq. ft. of event and meeting space.
“Nearly two million people visit this dynamic neighborhood every year for shopping, dining recreation and visiting the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site and, with development continuing in the surrounding blocks and the anticipation of an extension of the Eastside BeltLine Trail, we see a ready-made and growing market for this hotel,” said Mary Beth Cutshall, SVP acquisitions and business development for HVMG. “The restaurants and retail promenade will ensure that the boutique hotel is an enhancement to the local quality of life, as well as a convenient, stylish, and authentic destination for visitors.”
Cutshall added that the permitting process will begin immediately, and that they hope to break ground in the second quarter of 2016. The estimated completion date will be the end of 2017. Two Old Fourth Ward-based firms will collaborate on the hotel design: Surber, Barber, Choate + Hertlein Architects (SBCH) are the lead architects, with Square Feet Studios as the interior designers.
“The hotel with the O4W neighborhood as its backdrop, Downtown Atlanta and some of the city’s other unique neighborhoods at its doorstep, will provide discerning Atlanta visitors with an opportunity to experience the unique charms of authentic Atlanta,” Plockelman added. “We saw an opportunity in the Atlanta market as it lacks unique independent boutique hotels to cater for the many creative and independent minded travelers that flock to the city. Atlanta has a great local character and culture, and we wanted make that accessible to visitors.”