Ann Street Lofts to become Margaritaville Hotel Savannah

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The Ann Street Lofts apartment building in downtown Savannah is being converted into the Margaritaville Hotel Savannah.

The property, located near the JMR Intermodal Transit Center on the western edge of downtown, is transitioning from an apartment complex to the 230-key hotel.

The project has $113 million invested into it, backed by Peachtree Group. The work to transition the building is already underway. Tidal Real Estate Partners is behind the project.

The Ann Street Lofts first opened in 2023.

Reaction from downtown

“It’s a beautiful city, absolutely beautiful,” said first-time tourist Gary Hermanson.

Kevin Laurenson, a former Savannah resident who lived in the city for 13 years, said he would not stay at the hotel if he came to Savannah. “Every time we come back to visit it’s changed, in fact when we moved away none of this was here,” he said.

Laurenson said the overall continued development downtown helps the city. “It’s usually a positive plus because when we lived here there were some areas that were not so good and it’s much nicer now,” he said.

Laura Hermanson, visiting from Boston, said the hotel plan does not fit the way she thinks of Savannah. “I think it takes away from the charm of everything,” she said.

Gary Hermanson, on his first visit to the city, agreed. “We spent yesterday and today doing this whole circuit, how can you destroy this with modern structure,” he said.

Other downtown residents said they did not know much about the apartment building but were sad to see more residential housing leave downtown.