Pellerin Real Estate, the boutique developer behind The Beacon Atlanta in Grant Park, has purchased the tallest Summerhill building — the Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Atlanta Downtown & Conference Center — with plans to revitalize the 16-story tower, at 450 Capitol Avenue Southeast, according to a press release Thursday.
Pellerin has partnered with Life House through its Life Hospitality independent management arm to “stabilize operations and explore redevelopment opportunities as the neighborhood” — which is being revitalized under the direction of Carter — “continues to evolve.” The partnership seeks to grow its hotel portfolio by at least 1,000 additional keys by acquiring midscale hotels in Sun Belt states over the next 12-month period.
The 375-key Ramada Plaza sits adjacent to the new $750 million Summerhill Development, an 80-acre mixed-use project led by Carter Developments and Georgia State University that is already underway. Phase I of the Summerhill development will encompass 306 multifamily apartments with 8,575 square feet of ground-level retail, 82,000 square feet of grocery-anchored retail, the redevelopment of 47,000 square feet along Georgia Avenue, a 676-bed student housing project, 100 townhomes, and build-to-suit Class A office space. Additionally, Georgia State recently announced a new $85 million, 8,000-seat athletic arena which will be directly across the street from the hotel and is expected to deliver in 2022.
“The expansive [206,000-square-foot] property represents an opportunity for Pellerin to play a fundamental role in the evolution of the Summerhill neighborhood,” Philippe Pellerin, founder and CEO of Pellerin Real Estate, said in the release. “Through a community-sensitive approach, we will leverage our team’s deep familiarity with the hotel’s location to deliver a redevelopment that will be massively beneficial to preserving the history of Summerhill.”
Pellerin did not immediately respond to What Now Atlanta’s request for comment Thursday but did tell the Atlanta Business Chronicle that the Ramada Plaza could become anything from apartments to student housing to updated hotel rooms, pending talks with the community. In the meantime, the property will continue to operate as a hotel under the new name, Downtown Atlanta Summerhill Hotel. A new management group has been brought in and the current hotel staff was retained.
Moving forward, Pellerin’s strategy will target existing 100 to 300 key midscale hotels in locations with “attractive pre-Covid dynamics that are available below replacement cost,” with priority markets including Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX, Jacksonville, FL, and Orlando, FL, according to the release.
One Response
This is great. That property has been getting sadder and sadder for years.