After serving many years as student housing for college students attending Georgia State University, Emory University, Atlanta University Center, and Georgia Tech, Ponce Student Suites will soon return to its roots as a hotel.

Originally built in the 1930s, the building served as the Ponce DeLeon Hotel, a 58-room, 18,500-square foot extended stay hotel. In 2014, it was sold and converted into the current student housing.

On Tuesday, the building was purchased by a partnership between Atlanta-based Ross Hotel Partners and Kim King Associates as well as WHI Real Estate Partners out of Chicago. Plans now call for turning the student housing project back into a $20 million, 112-key hotel with a bar and restaurant.

According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the changeover would encompass 7,000 square feet of the original two-story building plus a five-story addition. Ron Stang, principal and chairman of Stevens & Wilkinson’s Atlanta office has signed on as architect, while Banko Design in Marietta has been named interior designer.

Rendering: Ross Hotel Partners/Stevens & Wilkinson

Located at 551 Ponce De Leon Ave., the property sits in the hotbed of activity and development taking place between Midtown and Old Fourth Ward, with both Ponce City Market and the Beltline just down the street.

Although no firm timeframe has been announced for the renovation, the project could start as soon as this summer with an opening date in fall 2020.

As for the students currently calling the building home, they are being relocated to a nearby student project the seller owns, although that location was not disclosed.

Rendering: Ross Hotel Partners/Stevens & Wilkinson

Franklin Street

• First look: $20 million boutique hotel planned near Ponce City Market [Atlanta Business Chronicle]