MACON, Ga. — It's official: Macon-Bibb Commissioners approved the purchase of the downtown Ramada for $4.5 million in a Tuesday night commission meeting. The deal was approved unanimiously.
A federal judge approved the deal on Jan. 9, but it was pending commission approval. Now, the county has received that approval, and Mayor Lester Miller says that the county will close on the sale in 30 days.
The property, vacant since 2011, went on the market last year after another judge denied owner Ruby Sangha's bankruptcy filing. The property also went under receivership. The latest court order grants the receiver's motion to sell the property to the county for $4.5 million.
The county's proposal appears to be a shift from their stance in June. That's when Miller told 13WMAZ via text: "The county isn't interested in acquiring the property unless it involves seats at the implosion."
Miller hasn't ruled out the possibility.
He says the biggest change since June was the asking price. It dropped more than $7 million since it went under receivership.
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"Those prices were entirely too much for that property, so we were not in the game at that time," Miller said Dec. 19.
Now, they are in the game. The county checked into negotiations Nov. 27 and inked an agreement Dec. 7. Miller hasn't said where the money is coming from, or what the plans are for the property.
"Really can't comment on any potential plans for that building yet, but what I can say is if we do get that building, we'll use it for a purpose that is going to increase the viability of downtown," he said Dec. 19.
At the meeting Tuesday, the commission did not provide any details on what the future of the building will hold.
A long, storied history:
The building has been known as the Macon Hilton, Crown Plaza, Macon Downtown Hotel and Ramada Plaza. The hotel once boasted 298 rooms over its 16 stories.
But after the hotel shuttered in 2011, the hotel had struggled to find a new future post-closure. It has sat empty in the heart of downtown for over a decade now.
But when the hotel was in business, the front of the hotel used to have limos and fancy cars driving in and out, dropping off folks going to prom or weddings. It also had once hosted the king of rock-and-roll, Elvis, when he performed in Macon.
Its last owner, Sangha Hospitality, filed for bankruptcy because he ran out of money during renovations. He estimated that it would cost $42,000 a room to finish the job. But when the company filed for bankruptcy, a judge denied the request back in 2023.
When the judge denied the bankruptcy filings, it was then given to a receiver — a court-appointed manager — to facilitate a deal to sell the property.
The receiver, Master Innkeepers, marketed the property to potential buyers and the facility went up for auction in November 2023.
One company, North Carolina-based Indo U.S. Ventures, submitted the winning bid at $4.1 million. But, after the auction, the county stepped in and offered the $4.5 million bid "plus other consideration."
Indo's owner, Anil Rathore, previously told 13WMAZ that they were hoping to reopen the facility, and they had multi-million dollar backing in hopes of making the facility one of their flagship properties.
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While the decision is up to the receiver, Rathore said he wishes that his company could be the one to bring the hotel back to life.
“We’ll risk our capital to bring the vision that the council and the mayor wants – in conjunction that we want," Rathore said. "Don’t risk the taxpayer capital. Let us risk our capital, and the taxpayers benefit because you get a new tax base. We’ll probably create about 200 jobs that the county doesn’t have to be responsible for.”