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The city of Aiken has commissioned Colliers to sell the Hotel Aiken and adjacent properties through a public tender. The aim, the municipality said in a press release, is to meet the changing needs of the city.

The city hired Tommy Tapp and Alia Bostaji of Colliers South Carolina and Mark Owens of Colliers’ U.S. Hospitality Practice Group.

“The city’s goal is to revitalize an important part of its historic downtown to meet increasing housing and hospitality needs while preserving Aiken’s local identity,” Aiken Mayor Teddy Milner said in the release. “The availability of Hotel Aiken and neighboring properties provides an exciting opportunity for developers to contribute to Aiken’s continued growth and prosperity, and we look forward to determining the best possible future for this important corner of Aiken’s vibrant downtown.”

For 125 years, the Hotel Aiken has been a prominent feature of downtown Aiken, anchoring and dominating one end of the city of Aiken’s most prominent commercial district along Laurens Street between Park Avenue and Richland Avenue. It is not currently operating as a hotel, according to Colliers.

The offering includes redevelopment opportunities for a 30,000-square-foot historic hotel site and 35,000 square feet of additional retail space on 1.36 acres. These properties are located on Richland Avenue between major Newberry and Laurens Streets, approximately four miles from the USC Aiken campus and within walking distance of Aiken’s most popular dining, shopping and entertainment options.

“The City of Aiken is pleased to partner with Colliers on this important downtown revitalization project,” Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh said in the release. “We are confident that Colliers will help the City find the right buyer for these properties and preserve their historic value while equipping them with modern amenities that will benefit our citizens, businesses and visitors.”

The hotel is also expected to benefit from annual tourism attracted to the Augusta National Golf Club, which hosts the Masters tournament less than 20 miles away. The city purchased the Aiken hotel and adjacent properties in 2021 to achieve several strategic goals, such as restoring unused historic sites and increasing their appeal to the growing population as well as tourism, the release said.

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