Albany takes another swing at bringing downtown hotel project to fruition

ALBANY – Is the third time the charm? That’s what the city of Albany is hoping in its next swing at locating a hotel in two historic downtown buildings after the first two projects came up strikes.

The most recent miss came with Illinois-based developer CL Real Estate Development (CL RED). The city had agreed to sell the former Hotel Gordon building that had been used as the Water Gas & Light Commission facility, and the former Albany Herald Building across the street on North Washington Street, at a price of $2 million.

The Albany City Commission also approved a low-interest loan of $5 million for the venture.

The company’s proposal called for a $40 million investment to transform the former city building into a modern 120-room hotel and to renovate the Herald building, originally a department store, into an extended-stay hotel.

The project collapsed through no fault of CL RED, city officials said, but because the financing environment was not conducive to launching it.

Now it’s back to the drawing board.

Developers will be asked to present their proposals to the city by Jan. 3.

Several dozen companies have expressed interest in the project, including CL RED.

Recently the City Commission approved spending up to $2.48 million to perform hazard abatement and repairs, including roofing and exterior to eliminate water intrusion into the buildings, which also include two structures adjacent to the former Herald building. It is suspected that some of the buildings could contain asbestos.

“Asbestos was the wonder drug of the ‘50s,” Mayor Bo Dorough said. “We won’t know until we get an environmental consultant in there.”

One hindrance to financing is that when the city converted the former hotel to use as office space, elevators were added to the exterior of the building, altering its original architecture, the mayor said.

One additional source of financing that could benefit a developer is the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program, Dorough said. C-PACE helps commercial property owners obtain low-cost, long-term financing for energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy projects.

“The other thing is the state of Georgia approved legislation in 2024 for downtown development assistance (through) C-ACE funding,” Dorough said. “It’s a loan, but the (city) government is guaranteeing the loan. You’re just looking at sources to finance this project.”

The project is something that would be a big boost to the city, the mayor said.

“I think we should explore an upscale boutique hotel that offers amenities that aren’t available in our area,” he said. “CL Red’s studies showed such a hotel is needed.”

The Herald building and the two adjacent properties have retained their historic exteriors, Commissioner Chad Warbington said, and are good candidates for providing tax credits to a developer.

“The word on the street is we’ve got about 40 people interested,” he said. “(City Manager) Terrell (Jacobs) has been a very strong force on that. He understands that. The mayor, he’s been great about researching the project. The mayor put a lot of research in, (with) a lot of pictures from the ‘20s and ‘30s. It’s a pretty cool RFP (request for proposals).

“We’re ready to try again. You can call it Downtown 3.0 or Downtown 4.0, but we’re not giving up. We’ve got a consensus. We’re going forward. There’s just a lot of energy and a lot of excitement.”

Another downtown project, the transformation of the former Davis Exchange building at the corner of West Broad Avenue and North Washington Street, is still on track.

The proposed IDP Properties housing development would bring 56 residential units to that location. Financing includes a $1.75 million loan commitment from the commission as part of the total $18 million investment, some of which will be financed with historic tax credits.

Across the street from that historic structure, the Albany Museum of Art is renovating the former Belk building for its new home.

Another downtown renovation project on tap is a $21 million investment in the historic Harlem District.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f714026fc83d6150ab9a4350b4169940?s=100&d=mm&r=gStaff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
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Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f714026fc83d6150ab9a4350b4169940?s=100&d=mm&r=g