Clermont Hotel rezoning paves way for new boutique hotel

The Clermont Hotel is one step closer to receiving a facelift and potentially reopening its doors.

The Atlanta City Council unanimously voted 11 to 0 rezone the Poncey-Highland property at its meeting this afternoon.

As part of those changes, Clermont Hotel Partners LLC, the property’s new owners, would be able to transform the shuttered landmark into a boutique hotel. The rezoning allows for a new front entrance, parking structure, outdoor lighting, and rooftop music. In addition, an adjacent residential structure located at 673 Bonaventure Avenue can used as part of the hotel and rented as a “guest villa for guest lodging.”

Last January, the company purchased the hotel for an undisclosed price and announced plans to redevelop the storied structure. The land, located at the corner of Ponce de Leon and Bonaventure avenues, first needed to be rezoned from Community Business and Two-Family Residential to Mixed Residential Commercial.

The hotel, which was first built in the 1920s, has remained closed since December 2009. Once the new improvements are finished and the hotel reopens, the current owners can nominate the original Clermont Hotel as a designated landmark building.

What remains to be seen is what changes, if any, would come to the Clermont Lounge, the storied strip club located in the property’s basement. Cross your fingers and say a prayer for Blondie.