A friend involved with the event sends along this press release…

I’m retyping this whole freaking blurb because WordPress wrote over this post with a new one.  From the June Decatur Focus (which is not yet online)…

The sale of the Decatur Holiday Inn is currently scheduled to close at the end of May.  Originally the new owners planned to keep the Holiday Inn brand name in place while they worked on upgrading the facility. We recently learned, however, that they plan to drop the Holiday Inn brand immediately and operate as the Decatur Hotel and Conference Center during the renovation.

The new owner will upgrade hotel rooms floor by floor and renovate the conference center.  The facility will be shut down completely during renovations of the public spaces and will reopen as a Marriott Courtyard.

Based on the schedule we received, this closing should occur after the Decatur Book Festival in September and the grand opening will occur early in 2012.  The new owners are looking at what event reservations are on the books so that they can work around those schedules.

From the AJC…

Officials with Atlanta-based Day Capital Partners said they are exploring the possibility of building a retail strip and a multi-family housing development at the parking lot of a 10-story office building the company purchased in late October.

Planning is in the early stages, officials say, but the redevelopment might include a hotel. The company plans to keep the 43-year-old office tower, Decatur Court, which is about 90 percent leased.

So…does this qualify as commercial development next to R60 zoning, even though the little bungalows to the northside of Decatur Court sit across the street? If so, I wonder what Jim Baskett thinks about this, since he’s mentioned regulating commercial next to R60 often during his reelection campaign. Regardless, I think the folks that live on Montgomery St. will be wary of this idea. Yes, Decatur Court is one of the tallest buildings in town, but hopefully the city won’t let Day Capital build an 80 foot hotel to its rear. We’ve already dealt with that issue over in Old Decatur.

On the other hand, I do think the city could benefit from a nicer hotel. Thoughts?

Hattip: InDecatur