Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is seeking to build an upscale hotel and mixed-use project on what’s now an economy parking lot on the western edge of the airport grounds.
The City of Atlanta, which runs the airport through its aviation department, issued a request for qualifications on Dec. 23, setting up a Jan. 13 meeting to explain the project to developers. Responses are due Feb. 4.
The airport wants developers with experience building “large scale, high end hotel facilities, convenience store/food service/vehicle fueling (‘Travel Plaza’), and mixed-use development inclusive of Class A Office space,” according to the RFQ document.
Miguel Southwell, the airport’s general manager, has been clear about the airport’s intent to build a 300- to 400-room branded hotel on the airport’s own property, attached to the domestic terminal or within a short walk. It’s part of a broader “Airport City” concept that calls for an office complex closer to Interstate 85 and what he has previously called a “service plaza” with a gas station, convenience store and dry cleaner.
Only a handful of other airports in the U.S. have on-site hotels, including Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Orlando and one in the works in Denver.
A similar project was proposed at Miami International Airport while Mr. Southwell was deputy director in charge of business operations. Miami, which also has an airport hotel inside its terminal, sought to build a $512 million mixed-use facility anchored with a hotel and conference center. That project has languished as the developer, the U.S. arm of Brazil’s Odebrecht, has been targeted by local politicians concerned about its business ties in Cuba. The stalled project has been scaled down to a 7.5-acre hotel, and now the city is even reviewing whether the airport should operate the hotel on its own, pushing Odebrecht out.
In Atlanta, Mr. Southwell clearly aims to make it happen as momentum builds for the creation of an “aerotropolis,” an airport-centered zone of development. While it’s the metro area’s biggest jobs generator, development has traditionally shied away from the areas just outside Hartsfield-Jackson’s fences.
That has been slowly changing. The 403-room Marriott at the Gateway Center, located on a train line next to the Georgia International Convention Center, has been one of the top-performing locations in the chain since opening in 2010. Grove Street Partners has added a Springhill Suites there and is looking to build another Marriott in the area.
On the other side of the airport, near the international terminal in Hapeville, is the 130-acre Aerotropolis Atlanta site, which will house Porsche Cars North America’s new home base.
New hotels are still sprouting up, including a Homewood Suites that opened in East Point in September. According to PKF Hospitality Research, occupancy in the airport-area submarket during the second quarter stood at 74.8 percent, higher than 70.9 percent in the overall market.
The Atlanta Aerotropolis Alliance, a new organization tasked with promoting the airport area and helping guide development, in October issued its own request for firms interested in designing an overarching master plan for the airport area. That project should be awarded by the beginning of February.
The airport’s new draft master plan released in August did not mention the hotel project, but it did indicate space for “future landslide redevelopment” in the area now highlighted in the RFQ. The document shows 10 acres for the hotel and 13 acres for the mixed-use/office development.
Some economy parking would be displaced, and certain aspects of ground transportation would have to be moved. The new master plan calls for eight-level parking decks to replace the four-level structures currently adjacent to the terminal, freeing up space while enabling the airport to maintain parking as a key source of revenue.
See the current list of hotels around the airport.
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