[EXCLUSIVE] Hilton Looks to Build New Hotel Where Beloved Buckhead Market Once Stood

A new Home2 Suites by Hilton is being pitched for Atlanta.  The new extended stay hotel would rise from the site of the onetime Harry's in a Hurry at 1875 Peachtree Road in south Buckhead near Piedmont Hospital.  Years ago, the site was cleared and was to be redeveloped into "Cornerstone Medical Center," but those plans failed to come to fruition.  Now, a ten story, 156 guestroom Home2 Suites is planned instead. 

Atlanta-based HC Architecture, a firm that according to its website specializes in hotels, is being tasked with designing the new property.  Earlier plans suggested the hotel would include 169 guestrooms, but a Hilton representative told ToNeTo Atlanta this week that the current room count is 156.  The roughly .64 acre parcel would also include 34 parking spaces with vehicular access via single ingress/egress on Peachtree Road. 

The new hotel, which is within the BeltLine Overlay District, is currently "in the initial stages of development" and pending approvals, permitting and construction, "is slated to open Q3 2026," according to a Hilton representative.  

If the hotel progresses as planned, it would join two other significant developments in the area including a new expansion by the Shepherd Center at 1860 Peachtree Road that will include the Arthur M. Blank Family Residences in addition to other new and enhanced services.  The Shepherd Center expansion is opening where former locations of Uncle Julio's and Ted's Montana Grill were previously demolished.  Just north of the Hilton site - at 1895 and 1901 Peachtree - Chick-fil-A demolished not only their restaurant, but a former liquor store too, and is under construction of a new, larger, more efficient restaurant on the combined parcel.  The new restaurant is slated to open in the coming months.

As for Hilton, the McLean, Virginia-based company seems to be keen on expanding their presence in both metro Atlanta and the state as a whole.  There are currently 25 Home2 Suites properties in Georgia - including those in Downtown, Midtown and three near Hartsfield - with at least two more coming to Dalton and Calhoun.  The brand was launched in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 2011 and launched in the Atlanta market in 2015.   Today, there are more than 500 locations across North America.  

Metro Atlanta is also home to dozens of other Hilton Hotels brands including Waldorf Astoria, Hilton, Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Tru, Hampton, Tapestry Collection, Curio Collection, and Canopy, among others.  

The company and its franchisees also plan to introduce three new brands to Georgia in the years to come.  

Signia by Hilton is a new luxury brand that will make its Atlanta debut in a newly built 42 story, 976 guestroom tower adjacent to the Georgia World Congress Center downtown.  The new hotel will be only the third Signia property worldwide, and according to the Hilton representative, is currently "slated to open Q1 2024."  The Signia website indicates that the hotel is accepting reservations starting March 15, 2024.  

Motto by Hilton, another new brand, was first announced to be opening at the Waldo mixed-use development along Boulevard in Old Fourth Ward in 2019 at which time the hotel was to have 146 guestrooms and open in 2021.  Now, according to the Hilton representative with whom we spoke, the hotel has been reduced to 110 "planned" guestrooms and is under construction with a projected opening in "Q2 2025."    

TEMPO by Hilton, a brand launched in 2020 that today has one property open in Times Square in New York and a second slated to open next year in Nashville, is also planned for Savannah.  The new TEMPO in Savannah is planned for 220 East Bryan Street where it would replace a former GBI building.  The 153 guestroom hotel was first proposed in 2022 and has been making its way through The Historic District Board of Review.  According to the Hilton representative we spoke with, the hotel is currently "in the initial stages of development" and is "slated to open Q2 2026." 

Are you pleased to see this long delayed development come back to life?  What is your favorite hotel brand and why?  What hotel brand would you most like to see open in Atlanta?  (Our top pics would be Andaz (from Hyatt) and Ace Hotels.)  

Please share your thoughts below.