Another new entrant to downtown Atlanta’s lodging landscape appears to be edging closer to breaking ground, though opening in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup isn’t likely. 

For the second time in six months, developers filed for permits this week to start building a Residence Inn By Marriott on a vacant downtown corner. The 355 Centennial Olympic Park drive site—where a hotel in various forms has been envisioned for more than five years—is located near several marquee attractions.

Situated diagonal from the north end of downtown’s signature park, the .8-acre site is a former gravel parking lot that’s been fenced-off and used sparingly for several years. 

The .8-acre Centennial Olympic Park Boulevard site in relation to the Georgia Aquarium and National Center for Civil and Human Rights, at bottom left. Marcus & Millichap

Plans for the 14-story structure with a restaurant at its base where Centennial Olympic Park Drive meets Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard. Niles Bolton Associates

Plans approved by the City of Atlanta call for the 14-story Residence Inn building to include 188 rooms, with guests housed on the top nine floors. Permitting paperwork filed this week pertains to the project’s sixth-floor, commercial-grade swimming pool and open parking garage, among other aspects. 

The location is a mile from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where World Cup matches will be played, and many of the hotel rooms would overlook Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Aquarium, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, World of Coca-Cola, and other downtown draws.

The Residence Inn’s bottom five stories would be used for 129 parking spaces and electric-vehicle charging stations, all wrapped in a perforated screen, according to Niles Bolton Associates, the Atlanta-based architecture firm behind interior, exterior, and landscape designs. 

Other aspects would include a third-party bar and restaurant space at street level, a pool deck over Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, and a terrace with views across Centennial Olympic Park.

High End Investments, a Houston-based developer, applied for building permits with the city in early 2023 for the Residence Inn but appeared to have backed away from developing it. Niles Bolton’s website indicates High End Investments is still the client, along with Hardem Hotels. The hotel’s franchisor is listed as Marriott International Inc.

We’ve submitted inquiries with Marriott and the architecture firm to learn when groundbreaking and delivery of the hotel could come. This story will be updated with any additional information officials provide. 

Where the 188-key hotel's pool amenities would be placed over Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard. Niles Bolton Associates

How the project would meet the corner of Centennial Olympic Park Drive and Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard.Niles Bolton Associates; via Marcus & Millichap

High End paid $3.8 million for the parcel, which had traded for $10.5 million in pre-recession 2008, according to Fulton County property records. A 10-story Candlewood Suites was once briefly floated for the same corner site, but the COVID-19 pandemic squashed those plans.

The project came to market in August as a package deal for the land and permitted hotel plans, asking $14.5 million. The owner is listed in building permit records as Texas-based Soneri Investment Group, and the cost of construction $39.7 million. 

The Residence Inn would stand three stories shorter than the 17-story, 336-unit Generation Atlanta apartments next door, which finished construction in summer 2020. 

According to Niles Bolton’s project description, designs for the Residence Inn are meant to strike “a balance between playfulness and sophistication,” with “décor [that] is crisp and modern, emphasizing earth tones and natural textures and materials like stone, concrete, and hardwood.”

Should it happen as planned, The Residence Inn would join several hospitality ventures recently delivered or in the works near downtown’s signature park.

The 22-story Margaritaville resort condo building by Wyndham Destinations, also fronting Centennial Olympic Park Drive, opened in 2022 with 200 suites and two floors of retail near SkyView Atlanta. 

The Signia by Hilton project delivered almost 1,000 hotel rooms last year, and Centennial Yards expects to finish its 292-room Hotel Phoenix this fall, with other lodges in planning stages. 

Also near the Georgia Aquarium, the Moxy Centennial Olympic Park project—a 10-story, 183-room property—is scheduled open in the second quarter of 2026. 

In the gallery above, find more Residence Inn site context and the latest available images. 

[CORRECTION: 4:01 p.m., May 21: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Centennial Yards' forthcoming hotel tower.]

...

Follow us on social media: 

Twitter / Facebook/and now: Instagram  

• Downtown news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)