Skyline Views

CoStar News Scoop: Savannah Firm to Build Element in Downtown Atlanta

Savannah Firm to Develop Element Hotel Near College Football Hall of Fame

Hos. Management Buys Site at Marietta and Mills Streets for 157-Key Hotel

For full story, click here.

BREAKING: Developer Plans Atlanta's 1st 'Airbnb Hotel'

By Tony Wilbert, CoStar News (For full story on CoStar.com, click here.)

Airbnb's expansion into the hotel business has prompted plans for Atlanta's first boutique lodging geared solely toward travelers who book short stays online.


RCC, LLC of Atlanta has filed plans to develop a nine-story, boutique hotel with 98-110 keys in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward. The hotel would be designed specifically to attract Airbnb users. RCC's representative John Schiavone heads Catholic Construction Services, and as such, is the director of real estate for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. It is unclear exactly what role the Catholic Church would play in the planned development.

For full story on CoStar.com, click here.

Dart Realty's Cayman Beachfront Kimpton Wows Visiting Journalists

SEVEN MILE BEACH, Grand Cayman (Nov. 26, 2014) - A select group of the U.S.' top real estate writers and editors got an exclusive shot last week to check on the progress of the resort hotel and residences Dart Realty (Cayman) Ltd. is developing on Seven Mile Beach.

Dart's DECCO has poured more than 80 million pounds of concrete and constructed several stories of the main structure that will rise 10 stories.

The hotel portion of the resort will be operated by Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. The hotel will be the first property in the Caribbean for Kimpton, well known in the States for its cool, hip properties that always include at least one destination restaurant.

A quick walk-around of the construction site and adjacent beachfront proved to be a highlight of the recent press trip hosted by Dart, a client of The Wilbert Group. Journalists from GlobeSt.com, Site Selection, France Publications, PERE and Candy's Dirt attended the trip.

In October, Cayman 27 interviewed Gary Gibbs, executive manager of DECCO Ltd., and aired a story that provides a good update on construction of the resort. Click here to view that report. 

Look for updates on the resort development soon. For now, I'll share several photos.

John Dewberry Starts Virginia, South Carolina Projects, Wins Apollo Award in Atlanta

ATLANTA (Nov. 17, 2014) - John Dewberry is back in the game across the Southeast, and he's even made an appearance in metro Atlanta.

In downtown Charlottesville, Virginia, Dewberry's firm Dewberry Capital is set to restart work on the Landmark Hotel. Dewberry picked up the hotel's nine-story frame in 2012 after original developer Minor Family Hotels filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, according to a story by Nate Delesline III of Charlottesville's The Daily Progress. The photo of the project comes courtesy of photographer Ryan M. Kelly.

Some in the university town had wondered when or whether Dewberry would begin work on the hotel, but city officials explained that Dewberry is following his original plan.

“In all fairness to Mr. Dewberry, he said he would start [the Landmark] when they started the project in Charleston, and we understand they’ve started in Charleston,” Jim Tolbert, Charlottesville’s director of neighborhood development services, told The Daily Progress. “He’s not ever told me anything and not done it. I think this is evidence he’s doing exactly what he said.”

Dewberry did in fact start work on once-delayed Hotel Dewberry, a conversion of the former L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building on Meeting Street at Marion Square. 

Meanwhile, John Dewberry recently was in Atlanta to receive the Apollo Award from the Men's Health & Wellness Center, based in Sandy Springs. Dewberry won the award based on his support of men's health issues and his commitment to sharing publicly his battle against prostate cancer.

Last week, Northside Neighbor ran several photos from the Men's Health & Wellness Center's MoMENtum event where Dewberry (third from left in photo) received the Apollo Award. Click here to see the photos from MoMENtum.

Toyoko Scrapping Plans for 40-Story Hotel in Downtown Atlanta?

ATLANTA (Feb. 8, 2011) - It appears Toyoko of Japan is saying "sayonara" to its plans for a 40-story no-frills hotel  at Forsyth and Luckie streets downtown. 

The 0.31-acre tract at 90 Forsyth St. that would house Atlanta's first Toyoko Inn has been put up for sale. Josh Finley of CB Richard Ellis has the listing, at least according to the sign recently erected on the property that today serves as a AAA parking lot.

Toyoko paid Selig Enterprises a whopping $3.94 million for the sliver of land in 2008, according to Fulton County property records. Of course, it would be interesting if Steve Selig makes an offer on the lot after cashing in once already.

If Toyoko in fact is scrapping plans for Toyoko Atlanta, it would be the latest development in the saga of the planned hotel. Toyoko filed plans for the hotel in 2008 and then went quiet.

But a Wall Street Journal article last summer that said Toyoko still planned to develop a 700-room hotel on the site created buzz in downtown and hospitality circles.

The latest move, the listing of the land, likely spells the end of dreams for a tall, skinny no-frills hotel in downtown Atlanta.

CBRE Calls for Offers on Atlanta's First Skyscraper

By Tony Wilbert, WNS PR

ATLANTA (Sept. 15, 2010) - Something interesting's going on at downtown's historic Carnegie Hotel, a former office building commonly referred to as Atlanta's first skyscraper.

The historic landmark, as the city of Atlanta designated it in 1990, has been for sale for a while. However, earlier this month, CB Richard Ellis issued a call for offers. All offers must be submitted to Lewis Miller of CBRE by 5 p.m. Friday (Sept. 17). "This upscale boutique property is located in what will be the completely renovated historic Carnegie Building, which was Atlanta's first skyscraper," CBRE says in the listing information. (Photo courtesy of LoopNet.)

The building, owned by Carnegie Hotels LLC, which appears to be an affiliate of Diplomat, is slated to become InterContinental Hotels Group's second Hotel Indigo in Atlanta. The renovation into a hotel Indigo was to have been completed in February 2011 at a cost of nearly $31 million.

However, a new buyer could bring in any hotel flag it desires, according to CBRE's listing information. "Current ownership has an agreement to operate the property as Hotel Indigo, an Intercontinental Group brand, but the property is being offered unencumbered by brand subject to closing requirements," the listing states. "For qualified investors, the attractive in-place debt, which matures in 2012, may be assumable, and $3 million in tax credits are potentially available to an investor."

The property, which has sold for as much as $12 million, now is valued at $4.66 million, according to Fulton County.

The historic building adjacent to the former Macy's store was designed by architect G. Lloyd Preacher, who also designed Atlanta City Hall, Henry Grady Hotel and Bass High School.