Piedmont Heights ex-motor hotel’s boutique renovation moves forward

Each day, hundreds of thousands of commuters whiz (or slog) by withering billboards topping a decades-old hotel that sits empty next to Interstate 85’s Buford-Spring Connector in Piedmont Heights.

Soon enough, though, the unsightly motor inn-turned-extended-stay hotel could become an adaptive-reuse construction site overseen by prominent Atlanta developer Paces Properties and the firm’s Austin-based partner Bunkhouse Group.

Built in the late 1960s, the now-closed InTown Suites had for years been a refuge for drifters and other less fortunate Atlanta denizens.

In recent weeks, the development team has applied for a land development permit with the City of Atlanta, meaning the hotel’s planned conversion to a boutique, 162-key lodging option could be on the horizon.

Google Maps

The renovation would likely entail stripping the aging building of additions to the facade, returning it to its midcentury aesthetic.

The redevelopment project is also supposed to include 48 new commercial studio spaces.

But that’s not all.

Paces Properties has also requested a land development permit for a neighboring, also vacant retail strip across the street from the Tattletale Lounge strip club.

The retail spots would be converted to office space, according to public records.

Google Maps

Construction was initially slated to kick off last spring, and was expected to wrap sometime this year. (Paces Properties representatives have not yet responded to Curbed Atlanta’s inquiries.)

The hotel’s proposed revamp, according to a 2018 press release, would appeal to “creative professionals, food and music connoisseurs, and corporate business travelers looking for something design-centric, forward- thinking, and community driven.”

Whether those weathered billboards will remain atop the complex is uncertain.

Google Maps