One of downtown Atlanta's many canker-sore parking lots could soon be swapped for a seven-story hotel. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that a 150-room hotel could consume about an acre of land catty-corner to the Georgia Aquarium, at Ivan Allen Boulevard and Luckie Street — property currently owned by Ameripark. The hotel is likely to be a Hyatt House, a new extended-stay brand, and it would include a restaurant and meeting space, the newspaper reports. You may recall this piece of land was once slotted for a revolutionary condo tower with turbines on the roof and an automated car-parking system.
Prior to the dream-slaying Recession, plans here called for Aquarius, a sleek, cylindrical tower that never came of age. The 500-foot, wind-powered Aquarius hoped to set the bar for green city living in Atlanta. Here's a poetic, promotional description for the Aquarius, circa 2007: "The eloquent, visionary building, fashioned of light and grace, is at once a towering mast, a billowing sail, and a providential lighthouse, acting as a counterpoint to Georgia Aquarium's adjacent, ship-like structure." C'est la vie.
[At right: Aquarius rendering via Luxlist]
· Hotel planned near Georgia Aquarium [Atlanta Business Chronicle]
· Atlantis condos make way for Hard Rock Hotel [ABC, circa 2007]
· The Aquarius vision [Luxlist]
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