Songy Partners purchased the building when it was a vacant office building that had been previously leased by the federal government. The property reopened as a 160-room Marriott Residence Inn in January 2002 after extensive renovation and rebranding, including a top floor "loft level." It is located in Atlanta's Midtown High Museum area and is adjacent to Earthlink's headquarters.

The property will continue to operate as a Residence Inn. Songy Partners CEO David Songy tells GlobeSt.com that the sale is the completion of a long-term plan for the property. "Our objective was to convert the hotel and stabilize the income for the first three to four years during what we call the 'ramp up period,'" Songy says. "Then we planned to sell it to an institutional buyer with most of the risk taken out of the project."

Songy notes that the company has completed similar projects, but mostly with office buildings that are redeveloped for office use. This is the first hotel sale for the company, although it has other hotel redevelopment projects under way. "The transaction represented one of the highest 'per key' sales for the select service hospitality category ever in the Atlanta region," says Richard Patton, senior development consultant for Songy Partners, in a prepared statement.