Longtime downtown Augusta hotel is up for sale at $10 million price tag

Joe Hotchkiss, Augusta Chronicle
·2 min read
The Ramada by Wyndham Augusta Downtown Hotel and Conference Center is shown in the foreground of this photo taken in 2007 from atop the AU Building on the 600 block of Broad Street in downtown Augusta.
The Ramada by Wyndham Augusta Downtown Hotel and Conference Center is shown in the foreground of this photo taken in 2007 from atop the AU Building on the 600 block of Broad Street in downtown Augusta.

One of downtown Augusta's oldest hotels is on the market for a "discount" price of more than $10 million.

The 200-room Ramada by Wyndham Augusta Downtown Hotel and Conference Center at 640 Broad St. is on the market for $10.2 million by the Florida-based Mazili Hotel Group, the company announced Wednesday.

"The hotel is an ideal opportunity for a conversion to a full-service premium-branded hotel or an extended-stay boutique hotel," according to the property's real-estate listing. "The hotel is offered at below replacement cost and and (the) potential buyer can terminate existing agreement without penalties."

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The property listing touts the hotel's restaurant, bar, outdoor pool and "a lounge on the penthouse level with the best views of the city. ... The hotel could be converted to a four-star hotel under major brands."

While the hotel still is under a franchise agreement with Ramada, Mazili Hotel Group added that "current ownership can terminate the agreement with … 180 days notice."

"The location and size of the property appeals to hoteliers who have the vision to create a landmark hotel in Augusta and serve the entire market with state-of-the-art facilities and modern décor," the listing noted.

The hotel was constructed for $5 million in 1974 during a massive downtown development push, and was named Executive House Augusta in a contest that drew more than 2,800 entries. The hotel later was affiliated with Hilton until 1986, and subsequent efforts to partner with Holiday Inn and Radisson fizzled.

After the hotel's ownership group defaulted on an interest payment of $8.6 million in industrial revenue bonds, in 1989 a new ownership group that included Bonnie Ruben and her husband, Jeff Gorelick, bought the Landmark for $1.6 million from First Union National Bank of Georgia.

The hotel became the Ramada Plaza in June 1995.

Calls to Ruben on Thursday were not immediately returned.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Ramada by Wyndham Augusta Downtown Hotel Conference Center for sale