After years of delays, construction will soon be starting on the Clermont Hotel. The dicey landmark, located above Atlanta's favorite strip club, was built back in 1924 as an apartment building, but from 1939 served as an increasingly seedy hotel — until it was shut by health inspectors in 2009. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that a host of issues has held up the redevelopment of the building, not least of which was the aging strippers in the basement.
According to the report, while the development team of BNA Associates LLC ran into issues with tax credits and a century-old sewer line on site, it wasn't the city's aging pipes that snarled progress. Rather, it turns that the logistics of keeping the Clermont Lounge up and running while the renovation occurred above proved the hardest aspect to sort out. Developers plan no changes to the strip club, and they hope to open the renovated hotel by March 2017.
"I bet saving the lounge added $1 million or more to the project, in one way or another," one developer told the ABC. "But in the end, that is what we felt made this project authentic and will be worth it in the end."
While work started more than 18 months ago on the project, this time it seems things are actually a go, following final financial approval at the end of last year. (It's difficult, apparently, to find financing for a boutique hotel/strip club combo). So as you watch Blondie's recycling talents down below, keep one eye on the action above.
· Clermont Hotel renovation finally ready to move forward [Atlanta Business Chronicle]
· Film Explores Landmark atop ATL's Most Legendary Strip Club [Curbed]
· It's Official — The Clermont Hotel's Rebirth Is Under Way! [Curbed]
Loading comments...