By Tony Wilbert, WNS PR
Updated at 5:25 p.m. July 28 with photo of the site (at right). Click on photo for closeup.
ATLANTA (July 28, 2010) - Nearly two years ago, Skyline Views wrote about Toyoko Inn Co.'s plans for a 40-story, 861-room hotel near Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta. The official filing said the hotel would be completed in 2010.
The Japanese hotel firm has yet to start construction, and little had been mentioned of the plans - until today. The Wall Street Journal reports that Toyoko's plans to enter the United States are on track, and the company will start with a 640-room hotel tower in Queens, New York.
"The New York hotel, to be located just on the other side of the East River from Midtown, is scheduled to open in 2012," WSJ reporter Kris Hudson writes in today's article. "After that, Toyoko will turn its focus to downtown sites it bought in recent years in Chicago and Atlanta. Toyoko ultimately envisions a 500-room hotel on Chicago's Clinton Street and a 700-room hotel on Atlanta's Forsyth Street."
In New York, Toyoko Inn rooms will be "just over $100 a night" and be less than 200 square feet, the WSJ says. The average hotel room in the city is 325 square feet and goes for nearly $210 a night.
So, the Atlanta Toyoko Inn will be a little smaller than originally planned, but it likely will become a reality and introduce a new concept to Atlanta's hospitality industry.
In April 2008, Toyoko Inn Atlanta LLC paid more than $3.9 million to Selig Enterprises for the parking lot at 90 Forsyth that will house the hotel. With that kind of investment, I bet Toyoko is itching to get started.
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