Loans For W Downtown Came From Georgia’s Largest Bank Failure– Go Figure!
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced yesterday that W Atlanta – Downtown Hotel & Residences will continue to operate business as usual despite a foreclosure by the senior lender 2010-1 SFG Venture, LLC., which is a joint venture entity comprised of the FDIC and Square Mile Capital Management, LLC.
A Carefully worded press release announcing that the W will operate even under the foreclosure says this about the Hotel:
A modern, fully integrated lifestyle experience, W Atlanta – Downtown opened in January 2009 and quickly established itself as the local hot spot, host to high profile events, celebrities and trend-setting travelers from around the world.
BULL!– this Hotel foreclosed for a reason. The residences are unsold. However, the hotel itself has seen success in booking rooms. Sources indicate that the entire hotel already has twelve sold out nights for the month of October. The Atlanta Business Chronicle sheds some light on this:
Specialty Finance Group originated an $85 million loan to help develop the W Atlanta-Downtown hotel and residences, a project that started in 2006 and whose revenues and condo sales have been undercut by the recession and slow recovery.
“While we understand that this legal process behind the scenes may create some confusion, W Atlanta – Downtown won’t skip a beat in providing the signature services and unique guest experiences that distinguish W Hotels around the world,” said Tim Dahlen, General Manager of W Atlanta – Downtown.
“Atlanta continues to be an important market for W Hotels, and we are delighted to continue to fly our flag downtown.”
Dahlen said the hotel operations are profitable despite the challenging economy and distracting legal issues.
“Even while opening our doors in the most difficult economic environment imaginable, W Atlanta – Downtown has debuted strong. We’ve enjoyed many weeks of high occupancy, and we’re very proud that we are attracting a greater share of transient business and leisure travelers than our competitors,” said Dahlen.
Dahlen also noted that the hotel’s celebrated nightlife offerings, including BLT Steak and DRINKSHOP, which have “quickly become popular hot spots for local insiders, are expected to continue business as usual.”
W Hotel Downtown
45 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd
Atlanta, GA 30308
6 Responses
The presence this building holds just isn’t as premier as its advertised to be. They have with insider help struggled to make this expensive location one that is bringing lucrative income & travelers. This is just part of downtown Atlanta’s infrastructure problems.
It looks nice, but is it nice for the city?
Do you want this hotel to close or something? Although they are in the same building, the hotel is separate from the condos and the hotel seems to be doing fine. If the rest of Allen Plaza was built as planned, the condos would be more “attractive”. Right now, you’re surrounded by parking lots instead of a 50 story office building, apartments, and more retail/restaurants. Allen Plaza as planned would have been a nice addition to that part of Downtown. Oh well 🙁
I totally agree Mike! Had Allen Plaza gone as planned and been completed, it would have had a major impact on the area & the condo sales.
RE: Mike’s “Right now, you’re surrounded by parking lots instead of a 50 story office building, apartments, and more retail/restaurants”
This is absolutely right. The acres of surface parking lots south of the W make the area look like a bombed-out war zone instead of the complete neighborhood it was planned to be.
I hope that, when the economy picks, up other developers will continue what was started here and build this area out. Then it can be something other than an island of nice, urban developments surrounded by a sea of parking lots.
I have Buyers for this Hotel & Condo Building…..Can we please present an offer – Daddy FDIC…? Please????
Email back..thanks!
Generally speaking, condos in Atlanta look like apartments, small and generic looking, nothing special about them. You can’t ask $200,000 for 900 sq feet in Atlanta when there are homes for less than that with more space and are within the city limits. A condo in Atlanta needs 1)excellent walking points- meaning i can walk to a train, grocery store, places people go daily 2) Generous sized spaces 3) a perfect veiw. Most condos lack one of these and you kinda need all three to get stared- and then have additional perks to win home buyers. Atlanta is not New York, there are plenty of options for home buyers. People should be able to live comfortable without a car and be fine. I dont think most people feel or see that they can.