By John Schaffner
editor@reporternewspapers.net
The epicenter of Buckhead seems to be relocating.
Moving from Lenox and Peachtree roads, past Peachtree and Piedmont, a major redevelopment looks to be heading toward the former Buckhead Village at the intersection of Peachtree with Roswell and Paces Ferry roads.
The latest indication is the announcement of a new 238-room Crowne Plaza Hotel development — with 24 condominium units over retail shops on the ground floor — one block south of the new Streets of Buckhead at the corner of Peachtree Road and Peachtree Avenue.
Atlanta-based Kronos Hotels, LLC plans to start construction on the $75 million, 17-story combination hotel and residential building in August. This is after a projected April finishing of the rezoning of the site to include the hotel and condo duo with a completion date slated for the fall of 2009.
That also is the projected opening time for the 800,000-square-foot Streets of Buckhead retail, hotel residential complex that is replacing the former Buckhead Village bar and club district. It also is the likely opening timeframe for the upscale St. Regis Hotel and Residences on West Paces Ferry across from the Whole Foods Market.
This is actually a return of a Crowne Plaza Hotel to Buckhead. Buckhead’s former Crowne Plaza was located at 3377 Peachtree Road, but closed to make way for a conversion into a Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. “W” brand hotel.
Kronos Hotels’ president and CEO, Charles Morais, described the new location for the Crowne Plaza as being “right at the crossroads of everything.”
The new Crowne Plaza will have 238 hotel rooms, topped with 24 condominium units, each about 1,200 square feet, with two 3,000-square-foot penthouses.
The hotel is to include glass elevators with a view of the city, a luxury spa, day care center, 12,000 square feet of meeting space, five levels of underground parking, 12,000 square feet of retail space and a fine dining restaurant.
In addition to the St. Regis, Ben Carter plans for at least two and maybe three hotels in the new Streets of Buckhead development and the Loudermilk family, of Aaron Rents, has announced a boutique hotel to be built adjacent to the Roxy Theater on Roswell Road.
The Crowne Plaza is planned to go head-to-head with Buckhead’s InterContinental Hotel, at 3315 Peachtree Road, the flagship of Atlanta-based InterContinental Hotels.