A Texas developer is quietly preparing to start work on a new Downtown Atlanta hotel around Centennial Olympic Park.

Houston-based High End Investment filed an application with the city of Atlanta to build a 188-room Residence Inn by Marriott at 355 Centennial Olympic Park, next door to the Generation Atlanta apartments. High End filed to build a 14-story, 190K SF hotel designed by architectural firm Niles Bolton Associates atop a 63K SF parking garage.

“I think Atlanta Downtown is a good market for hospitality,” Barkat Ali, the managing member of High End Investment, said in a phone interview.

This is High End’s first foray into the Atlanta hotel market, Ali said. He admitted that it was tough finding construction debt in this current environment, but he is optimistic the firm will land a loan to start construction.

“We have some commitment, but nothing final yet,” he said.

High End acquired the site in 2019 for $3.8M after a group comprising local real estate investor Dion Meltzer and BA Barrett Construction President David Barrett dropped plans to develop a 138-room Candlewood Suites hotel on the property due to the pandemic, What Now Atlanta previously reported.

Developers previously planned for 4,400 SF of retail and an 8K SF rooftop deck. It is unclear if the retail and rooftop deck are still expected to be incorporated into the project.

Plans for the hotel come as Atlanta’s hospitality industry is approaching pre-pandemic performance, despite the city adding 2,500 new rooms, including the Epicurean Atlanta hotel and the Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Midtown, over the past two years.

Occupancy surpassed 70% in Atlanta during the first week of the year, according to data compiled by STR. The Atlanta central business district saw a Tuesday-to-Thursday occupancy rate above 92% during the first week of January, according to STR, indicating that business travel is rebounding.

Twenty-one citywide conventions are booked for Atlanta this year, ACVB reported, up from 20 last year. ACVB projects that there will be 21 major events in the city in 2024 as well. Major sporting events hold the promise to fill in room demand, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which could bring $400M in revenue to the city.