Exclusive: Highly visible hotel in Piedmont Heights set for unique, boutique redo

Seen by hundreds of thousands of commuters daily, a midcentury motor inn turned extended-stay hotel could soon be a bustling new hospitality concept in Piedmont Heights.

Paces Properties is teaming with Austin-based hospitality company Bunkhouse to turn back the clock on the Intown Suites, perched at the edge of the Buford-Spring Connector.

The goal is to create a hotel inspired by the building’s midcentury aesthetic. No doubt the transformation will involve peeling back layers added over the years to reveal the original streamlined design.

According to a press release, the style will cater to “creative professionals, food and music connoisseurs, and corporate business travelers looking for something design-centric, forward- thinking, and community driven.”

Plans call for a unique arrangement: a 162-room hotel and 48 commercial studio spaces.

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The studios “will satisfy the demand for intimate, flexible commercial spaces with a distinct set of amenities and services that Bunkhouse is renowned for.” Unfortunately, renderings aren’t yet available.

The project will be Bunkhouse’s first foray in the eastern U.S. The company operates other concepts in California, Texas, and Mexico for now.

Each of Bunkhouse’s properties is unique, ranging from the Hotel Havana, located in a historic building in San Antonio, to El Cosmico, featuring trailers, yurts, safari tents, and tepees in the desert town of Marfa.

Currently, the hotel serves as home to many disadvantaged patrons. The development team is working with Action Ministries to assist in transitioning tenants to new locations.

Construction on the project will begin this spring, officials said, with an opening projected sometime in 2019.

• Bunkhouse Group [website]