[KevinAtl]

The Lenox Inn is being torn down. Does anybody know what's going on with this prime location across from Lenox Square?

[niff]

The Lenox Inn is being torn down. Does anybody know what's going on with this prime location across from Lenox Square?

Is this the same spot as the old Art Institute building? I know that building is being torn down and will eventually be replaced by some type of office building with maybe residential or hotel space as well. There was a thread about it a while ago, but I'm not sure if this is the same location [Peachtree side of lenox?].

Also, this is kind of off subject, but I wanted to mention that the Pharr Road tower crane is up now :)

[cactuspunk]

Is this the same spot as the old Art Institute building? I know that building is being torn down and will eventually be replaced by some type of office building with maybe residential or hotel space as well. There was a thread about it a while ago, but I'm not sure if this is the same location [Peachtree side of lenox?].

Also, this is kind of off subject, but I wanted to mention that the Pharr Road tower crane is up now :)

No, this is located directly across Lenox Rd from Lenox Square. It was a two story Motel, kind of like what you would see on the beach somewhere.

BTW, I don't know what is going there.

[atlantaguy]

As is becoming usual around here, something is already started that we have heard nothing about. This mornings AJC Business section has the story.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is planning to build Atlantas 2nd W hotel there. The article says that there will be a 38 story and an 18 story component to the project. The 38 story tower will contain 225 hotel rooms and 120 condominiums on the uppermost floors. The 18 story portion will be 180 condos, to be constructed on top of the parking structure.

I guess theres no stopping Buckhead - Just wish this was going into Downtown or Midtown.

[niff]

Whoa! So a 38 story building is almost underway, and we ahve heard nothing about it? This seems to be the case with Buckhead; at least for me, it seems like a number of projects have kind of snuck up on me. I'm kind of surprised a hotel is going in, but then, a 3rd of it is condos. I guess with demolition of the old building, construction will start soon?

[atlantaguy]

I dont know when construction starts Brian, the article didnt spell that out. It did mention that they are going before the City for rezoning in December. Like everthing else around here, its probably already a done deal. Amazing how much stuff slips in under the radar, isnt it?

[Buck]

Man! How come we never hear anything ahead of time? Its like we always find out about something related to it, but are still left out in the dark as to what it is and then the next day or so the AJC or ABC comes out with a story explaining it!

[KevinAtl]

Upscale Lenox hotel planned
Walter Woods - Staff
Saturday, October 18, 2003

Buckhead's skyline may get a chic new addition as Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide plans a second W Hotel in Atlanta.

Starwood's plans call for a 38-story, 225-room hotel on the site of the Lenox Inn at 3387 Lenox Road, according to plans filed with the city of Atlanta.

The plan comes as upscale hotels throughout Atlanta slash rates to compete for customers in a struggling market.

The development also will have residential space if Starwood's request for a zoning change is approved by the city. The highest floors of the W Buckhead Hotels and Residences would have 120 condominiums. An additional 180 condos are planned for 18 floors on top of the hotel's parking structure.

The Lenox Inn, built by Lenox Square developer Ed Noble in 1963, is already being demolished to make room for the development.

The W is the second upscale hotel planned for Buckhead. InterContinental Hotels Group, parent of Holiday Inn, will open a 21-story, 400-room InterContinental hotel next to the Atlanta Financial Center on Peachtree Road in November 2004.

But that many rooms relying chiefly on business travelers will be hard to fill in a sluggish Atlanta hotel market, said Scott Smith, vice president of PKF Consulting Inc.

"The commercial transient traveler hasn't come back to Buckhead ... and Starwood and InterContinental will compete for that traveler," Smith said.

Buckhead hotels have been slashing rates this year to fill rooms, Smith said. The average daily rate in the district is about $104, which is 10 percent lower than last year.

W Buckhead will feature a 200-seat restaurant, a 33,000-square-foot spa and health club and a 3,600-square-foot ballroom, according to the plans.

The structure, designed by Atlanta architects Ai Group, also will have space for a 350-seat eatery that could be leased by a restaurateur.

Officials at Starwood's corporate offices in White Plains, N.Y., refused to give details about the project.

W is the hip brainchild of Starwood Chief Executive Officer Barry Sternlicht, said Darryl Jett, general manager of the W Atlanta, which opened in Dunwoody in 1999. Starwood is also the parent of Sheraton, Westin and other lodging brands.

"It's a boutique-style product designed to give you something different," he said.

The 5-year-old chain has 17 units in select cities such as Sydney, Australia, New York, San Francisco and New Orleans.

Starwood is seeking to change the site's 1985 zoning plan, which called for a hotel and offices totaling about 1 million square feet.

The city's Zoning Review Board will consider the request to add residential space in December.

[Rail Claimore]

Let Buckhead get all the want for all I care in the area of hotels. It is Atlanta's "ritzy" district afterall. The residential towers and new landmark office buidlings and mixed use developments should be in downtown and midtown, the true heart of Atlanta. And it's happening anyway. Downtown and Midtown Atlanta have enough hotel rooms as it is right now, and because the market isn't oversaturated there like it is in Buckhead, you'll see smart and stable growth as well as projects driven out of market demand. Much better in my opinion.

[Stratosphere 2020]

38 story may be a good 600 footer.

[Buck]

Not a hotel/residential 38 stories. You are dreaming! Unless it has a 150 - 200 foot spire, we are looking at a possible 400 - 450 footer.

[niff]

Yep, that would have been my guess for the range. Sometimes residential towers can have high floor to ceiling heights [museum tower for example] but hotels, to my knowledge, are almost always around 10 feet per floor, which means we’d be very luck if the building exceeded 450’. It’ll probably be comparable in height to the Paramount, but that is just a guess based mostly on the number of floors.

Heh, maybe I better wait till its built before I start talking like this, but if something is being demolished, then I guess that is a good sign.

[KevinAtl]

Lenox Road may get high-rise hotel

Buckhead could get another high-rise hotel if a New York developer is allowed to proceed with plans for a site on Lenox Road just north of the J.W. Marriott Hotel.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts, based in White Plains, N.Y., has submitted plans with Atlanta to build a mixed-use project with a hotel and residences, according to records filed with the Atlanta Regional Commission. The structure would total 828,200 square feet, which is about 4,000 square feet larger than Phipps Plaza.

Starwood seeks to amend a site plan for the corner of Lenox Road and Wright Avenue. The property abuts Oak Valley Road, where there now are several high-rise residential buildings.

[Stratosphere 2020]

Indeed many projects that are or will be happening in Atlanta we do not know anything about, it is time to expand our connections with those that grant permission for project construction in metro Atlanta.