The Beltline could be getting a boost with the construction of a $40 million boutique hotel near Krog Street Market. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that foreign investors are eyeing a current parking lot next to Studioplex. While the trail has driven development of countless apartment projects and boosted the price of homes, this will be the first hotel developed along the route, according to the ABC. The announcement can be seen as a signal that folks outside of Atlanta are taking note of the Beltline as an item worth checking out on their visits, and hinting that the housing market in Old Fourth Ward has gained enough density to necessitate a hotel within the neighborhood. And it's not just a hotel that is planned for the land adjoining the soon-to-be-extended Eastside Trail.

In addition to the 140-room hotel, plans have been submitted for 8,000 square feet of retail space, 10,000 square feet of restaurant space and an additional 56 residential units on the site. Atop the hotel, plans call for a rooftop bar with skyline views, while two restaurants and a "shopping promenade" will front the Beltline. The architects responsible for Ponce City Market — Surber Barber Choate + Hertlein Architects — will be designing the hotel.

· $40 million boutique hotel planned along Beltline [Atlanta Business Chronicle]