Historic SLO County hotel has new owners — and they’re planning some changes
After being on the market for more than one year, the historic Carlton Hotel in downtown Atascadero has new owners.
Silicon Valley-based Capricorn Property Group — run by father-and-son team Robert and Kamal Patel — acquired the property earlier this year for $10.5 million, Kamal Patel told The Tribune.
The property was first listed in July 2022 for $12.2 million, according to an original LoopNet listing.
Patel said the original listing price dropped by the time they first started looking at the property in spring 2023 and confirmed the Capricorn Property Group was also able to negotiate the sale price down. The Patels acquired the hotel on March 31.
The Patels have family that have lived in the San Luis Obispo County area for the past 40 years and were already familiar with the commercial real estate market, he said.
“We’ve had a pulse on the market, but we started to realize the opportunity with what was happening in downtown Atascadero in terms of a lot of new businesses in the downtown corridor,” he said.
Capricorn Property Group felt the hotel was a good investment due to the development in the city core. The influx of breweries, restaurants, shopping and community events could make it an attractive destination for tourists.
“We’ve been in the hotel business for four years. ... (Atascadero) has a compelling narrative what’s happening in the downtown area, and it has a lot it can offer,” Patel said.
New owners say The Carlton Hotel has ‘a lot of potential’
Almost a century old, the historic Carlton Hotel opened in 1928 and has since changed hands many times. In 1999, the owners renovated the hotel substantially and reopened the doors to guests in 2005, according to the Carlton Hotel website.
The 2005 renovation was well executed, Patel said, giving the hotel “a lot of potential.”
Capricorn Property Group plans to start renovations as early as next quarter by refreshing the lobby and hotel entrance and turning on their food and beverage service in the first floor restaurant space by offering small bites, beer and wine service, he said.
The next phase, beginning in fall 2024, involves renovating the 52 hotel rooms, starting up a two-meal a day restaurant and opening up the lobby into a food and beverage area, he said.
“It’ll be a large pretty large-scale renovation,” Patel said.
Capricorn Property Group has a lot of space to play with at The Carlton.
The property includes approximately 2,500 square feet of meeting space, a fitness room and a business center, according to the LoopNet listing, along with a 4,200-square-foot retail space that is currently used by Back Porch Bakery and a vacant restaurant space once occupied by the permanently closed Nautical Cowboy.
