The Radco Companies has acquired the 315-room, full-service American Hotel in downtown Atlanta from Legacy Ventures, which has been retained to continue providing management services for the property.
Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Opened in 1962 as the American Motor Hotel, the property has a history as the first racially integrated hotel in downtown Atlanta and was cited as an important catalyst in the relocation of Major League Baseball's Braves franchise from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966. The property hosted meetings of influential leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., who is now depicted in a mural on the western wall of the property.
The deal marks the third acquisition by Radco's new hotel division launched in early 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic's operational and capital markets disruptions in the hospitality sector. Radco is seeking out hospitality assets that are in line with the company's overall investment strategy, according to CEO Norman Radow.
"It's no secret that the hospitality sector suffered considerably in the wake of the global pandemic, especially hotels in central business and entertainment districts that thrive on corporate leisure and convention center demand such as Downtown Atlanta," Radow said in a statement. "The American Hotel provided a unique opportunity to acquire a recently renovated asset with tremendous value-add and mark-to-market potential."
Legacy Ventures acquired the hotel in 2015 and completed a $16 million renovation program in 2017, including rebranding the property as The American Hotel, embracing a 1960s theme. Radco plans to build on these upgrades and eventually add the asset to Hilton's new Tapestry Collection brand. The company ecpects this to improve RevPAR at the property.
"It has been a career highlight restoring the historically significant American Hotel. Now under RADCO's ownership, Legacy Ventures will continue as the property's hotel and restaurant managers," said Legacy Ventures' Founder and President David Marvin. "Legacy Ventures is geographically diversifying, but we will continue to be headquartered and engaged in downtown Atlanta where we own and manage multiple other hospitality assets."