BUFORD, GA. — Lake Lanier Islands Resort has undergone a complete rebuilding of the 221-room Legacy Lodge & Conference Center, the first phase of a 10-year resort-wide expansion plan. Located at 7000 Holiday Rd. in Buford, hotel renovations include a 21,000-square-foot conference center, a ballroom that seats up to 300 people and six 4,500-square-foot villas. BullFrogs Bar and Grille was also expanded as part of Phase 1. The second phase, which will be complete by next spring, includes a golf course redesign and improved infrastructure.
Hospitality
COLLEGE PARK, GA. — Atlanta-based Grove Street Partners will break ground next month on two LEED-certified hotels, representing the first phase of the 1 million-square-foot, mixed-use Gateway Center in College Park. The seven-story, 403-room Marriott, which will feature meeting and ballroom space and two restaurants, is expected to deliver in August 2010. The 147-room Spring Hill Suites will deliver in February 2010. The hotel developments represent a $134 million investment by Grove Street, Fidelity Investments of Boston and Williams Opportunity Fund. Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates designed the Marriott, with Goode Van Slyke Architecture working on the Spring Hill hotel. Brasfield & Gorrie will serve as general contractor.
DURHAM, N.C. — Spokane, Wash.-based Magnuson Hotels has rebranded the 30-room Durham Skyland Inn in Durham, naming it Durham Skyland Inn Magnuson Hotel. The new brand will help the hotel, which was formerly a Best Western, attain better local, regional and national market positioning. Hotel amenities include a saltwater swimming pool and wireless Internet, and each room includes a microwave and a refrigerator.
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — Fort Worth, Texas-based Trademark Property Co. has commenced construction of AVIA – The Woodlands, a 70-room boutique hotel located in The Woodlands. The hotel will be part of Market Street – The Woodlands, a 560,000-square-foot mixed-use town center that features retail and office space. Hotel amenities will include a wine bar, a tasting kitchen, outdoor living space with seating nooks and cabanas, and 24,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Completion is scheduled for fall 2009. The AVIA hotel brand is owned by Kansas-based LodgeWorks.
ATLANTA — 3630 Peachtree, a 34-floor mixed-use building under construction on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, will include the 129-unit Ritz-Carlton Residences starting on the 18th floor. Atlanta-based developers Post Properties and Novare Group recently announced the project and will work with Campion Platt Architect PC and Robert Brown Interior Design on the luxury units. Each residence includes recessed balconies, 10-foot ceilings, hardwood and marble flooring and granite countertops. A formal dining room, cocktail lounge and fitness center will take up floors 18 and 19. Building construction began in June 2007, and the hotel will deliver in the middle of next year.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Atlanta-based Urbana Investments has purchased the 159-unit Pelican Grand Beach Resort, located at 2000 N. Ocean Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale, from the original owner’s lender for $22.4 million. Miami Beach-based Boutique Hospitality Management will manage the 4-year-old property.
ALBANY, GA. — SAGU LLC has opened a 70-room County Inn & Suites, located at 2809 Nottingham Way in Albany. The building, which marks the first Country Inn & Suites in Albany, features an indoor heated pool, a hot tub, a sauna and an exercise room. Rooms include free wireless Internet, a microwave and a refrigerator. Atlanta-based Hotel Equities will manage the hotel.
PORT ARANSAS, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a Best Western hotel located at 400 East Avenue G in Port Aransas. Situates on 1.89 acres, the property contains 48 rooms. Michael Yu and Imran Haroon of Marcus & Millichap’s Houston office listed the property on behalf of the seller, a Texas-based private investor. Yu and Rahul Bijlani represented the buyer, a San Diego-based private investor. The acquisition price was not disclosed, but the property listed for $3.9 million.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. — Helman Hurley Charvat Peacock/Architects has been tapped to design an 11-story, 300-unit Embassy Suites Hotel in Lake Buena Vista for Sierra Land Group. Hotel amenities include an atrium restaurant, a lounge in the lobby, convention space and a resort-style pool. The hotel will be ready for business at the end of next year.
NORTH BAY VILLAGE, FLA. — Stephen Wechsler of Thomas D. Wood & Co. secured $7.5 million in financing for the Inn on North Bay, a 119-room Best Western Hotel and Shuckers Restaurant located at 1819 79th St. Causeway in North Bay Village. The 5-year loan was financed through a local bank at a fixed rate of 6 percent with a 25-year amortization. The loan will be used to renovate the 41-year-old property.