The 22-story Westin Buckhead joins a sister property, Sheraton Buckhead, in the Starwood-managed portfolio, along with nine other Sheraton and Westin properties in the metro area. "We're happy to be back in this market after being absent for many years," says Sue Brush, senior vice president, Westin Hotels & Resorts.

Westin Buckhead is located in the affluent business, shopping and entertainment district of Buckhead, nine miles from Downtown. The hotel is adjacent to the 1.6-million-sf Lenox Square shopping center and the 850,000-sf Phipps Plaza mall. The hotel, which boasts the largest grand ballroom in Buckhead, also has a fitness center and houses the acclaimed Palm Restaurant in its lobby.

The addition to Starwood's management portfolio comes as the White Plains, NY-based inn operator awaits approvals from the Atlanta Regional Commission to develop an 828,000-sf, mixed-use hotel venture at an estimated $40-million hard construction cost at Lenox Road and Wright Avenue, north of the JW Marriott Hotel, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.

Local hospitality industry brokers familiar with the project tell GlobeSt.com the hotel could have at least 500 rooms, based on the total square footage cited in the preliminary plans filed with the city.