Five things to know as Atlanta’s new Signia hotel tops out

Aerial photograph shows construction site of Signia by Hilton Atlanta at Georgia World Congress Center, as construction crew prepare for topping out ceremony, Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Atlanta. Plans are in motion for GWCCA’s new headquarter hotel Signia by Hilton Atlanta. Featuring close to 1,000 rooms, this premier full-service hotel will sit on the northwest corner of the campus, adjacent to Building C of Georgia World Congress Center. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Aerial photograph shows construction site of Signia by Hilton Atlanta at Georgia World Congress Center, as construction crew prepare for topping out ceremony, Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Atlanta. Plans are in motion for GWCCA’s new headquarter hotel Signia by Hilton Atlanta. Featuring close to 1,000 rooms, this premier full-service hotel will sit on the northwest corner of the campus, adjacent to Building C of Georgia World Congress Center. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Officials with the Georgia World Congress Center and Hilton on Tuesday celebrated a milestone in construction of the new Signia hotel next to the downtown Atlanta convention center.

Vertical construction is now complete, and crews are turning their attention to finishing out the inside of the hotel in time for a planned opening at the beginning of next year. Here are five things to know about the huge new luxury hotel:

1. Tallest new hotel downtown since the 1980s

The Signia by Hilton Atlanta is a 42-story glass tower that’s the tallest hotel to be built in downtown Atlanta since the Marriott Marquis opened in 1985.

A gigantic peach is lifted up to the top during topping out ceremony of Signia by Hilton Atlanta at Georgia World Congress Center, Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Atlanta. Plans are in motion for GWCCA’s new headquarter hotel Signia by Hilton Atlanta. Featuring close to 1,000 rooms, this premier full-service hotel will sit on the northwest corner of the campus, adjacent to Building C of Georgia World Congress Center. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

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Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

2. Nearly 1,000 guest rooms

The hotel will offer 976 guest rooms and suites, making it the sixth-largest hotel in the city by room-count when it opens. The Signia will also feature some 100,000 square feet of meeting space a total of five food and beverage concepts.

This is a photo of one of the rooms within the Signia by Hilton Atlanta hotel, which features a rendering of Mercedes-Benz Stadium to reflect how the room will look when complete.

Credit: Gensler

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Credit: Gensler

3. Georgia Dome foundation

The Signia is rising on part of the old foundation of the Georgia Dome. The former home of the Atlanta Falcons was imploded in 2017. Modifications were made to the base of the old dome to accommodate construction of the new hotel, officials said.

The 976-room Signia by Hilton Atlanta hotel near The Home Depot Backyard is still under construction Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023.    (Steve Schaefer/steve.schaefer@ajc.com)

Credit: Steve Schaefer

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Credit: Steve Schaefer

4. Public support

The GWCC, which is owned and operated by a state authority, started planning for the hotel in 2015. Rival convention centers in cities like Chicago and Dallas have attached hotels, and a hotel was seen as vital for competitive reasons. The GWCC issued some $450 million in revenue bonds to finance the hotel and invested $55 million in the project. Hilton also contributed $25 million once it agreed to manage the hotel’s operations.

 Gary Steffen, the Global Category Head, Full-Service Brands, Hilton, talks to the crowd as Frank Poe, Executive Director, Georgia World Congress Center Authority, looks on during the topping out ceremony of the Signia by Hilton Atlanta hotel on Georgia World Congress Center campus Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023.  (Steve Schaefer/steve.schaefer@ajc.com)

Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC

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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC

5. Business travel forecasted to rebound

The COVID-19 pandemic decimated travel globally, but the Signia is slated to open Jan. 4 at the start of what is expected to be a big year for Atlanta’s convention industry. Hilton is already booking groups for the hotel’s Jan. 4 opening. GWCC Executive Director Frank Poe said the International Production and Processing Expo, which usually draws about 28,000 attendees, will be the first large convention to use the new hotel.

Frank Poe, Executive Director of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, talks during the topping out ceremony of the Signia by Hilton Atlanta hotel on Georgia World Congress Center campus Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023.   (Steve Schaefer/steve.schaefer@ajc.com)

Credit: Steve Schaefer

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Credit: Steve Schaefer