The Green family, which owned The Inn of Rosslyn and the Americana Hotel in Crystal City the sale of which was previously reported has sold both hotels to developer JBG Smith before the new year, according to one family member. The family also sold two apartment buildings: Fern Gardens and Williamsburg Apartments.
“The whole COVID-19 thing has basically bankrupted our businesses,” Katherine Green, whose father built the hotel in 1957, told ARLnow. “There was no other option. There was no end in sight.”
Business looked good, pre-coronavirus. The hotels were generating income, and the general manager of The Americana told Washington Business Journal that 2017 was its best year. But when the economy crashed, Green said she had no income from April 1 until mid-December. (The County records the sales on Dec. 18.) She said a small business loan covered payroll for a few months, but the siblings still emptied their bank accounts to keep the hotels open for a paltry 10% occupan
JBG Smith announced today that it has acquired the Americana Hotel in Crystal City and intends to redevelop the property as an apartment building.
The family-owned hotel at 1400 Richmond Highway closed earlier this month after nearly 50 years in business and at least one appearance in a major motion picture.
In a press release, JBG suggests that the 102-room hotel could eventually make way for a big apartment building with more than 500,000 square feet of space. That might be similar to JBG’s The Bartlett one block away, at the corner of S. Eads Street and 12th Street S., which clocks in at 23 stories, 700 apartments and about 750,000 square feet of floor area.
After nearly 50 years in business, the Americana Hotel in Crystal City permanently closed this month.
The hotel at 1400 Richmond Highway opened in 1963, and was one of the first hotels in Crystal City. As the area became a major employment hub, its retro sign remained visible to all driving past on Route 1. It was even featured in a Russell Crowe movie.
A staff member tells ARLnow that the hotel closed earlier this month partly due to negative effects on the travel industry from COVID-19. The staffer could not comment on future plans.
The hotel has gone through a room-by-room renovation over the last several years, and in 2018 its general manager told the Washington Business Journal that it had just enjoyed its best year to date, despite an uncertain future.