Shamin Hotels breaks ground on $100M+ hotel in Richmond

On Monday, Shamin Hotels held a ceremonial groundbreaking for a 12-story hotel near Richmond‘s Scott’s Addition neighborhood that will cost more than $100 million to build.

The 253-room hotel, which at 123 feet tall will be one of the tallest buildings in the area, will be a dual-brand Marriott International property, with rooms from both Residence Inn and AC Hotels brands.

Located at 921 Myers St., the property will include a parking deck, a 10,000-square-foot ballroom, a ground-floor restaurant and an indoor-outdoor bar. There will also be the Celestial Rooftop Bar and Lounge, which includes an event deck for private gatherings.

The hotel is expected to create about 160 jobs and is slated to be completed in mid-2028.

For Shamin Hotels CEO Neil Amin, one of the most exciting parts of the property will be a terrace that overlooks Arthur Ashe Boulevard, allowing guests to socialize and people-watch. “That’s going to be nice,” he said.

Regarding the dual branding, Amin said: “Some people prefer … suites with full kitchens, and some people will prefer more of a lifestyle hotel.” AC Hotels properties feature contemporary spaces, while Residence Inns cater to extended stays.

Amin noted the hotel was redesigned “a couple of times to maximize everything.” It would have been easier to have a 5,000-square-foot ballroom at the property, but Amin refused to settle.

“It was important to maintain that large open ballroom,” Amin said. “A lot of people want to have events in that neighborhood, but there’s not a place to hold large-scale events.”

Tennessee-based Thomas Builders is the general contractor for the hotel. It was designed by Glen Allen-based architect Nitin Kulkarni, and Chesterfield County-based Timmons Group is the project engineer.

Last year, Richmond City Council authorized the hotel project to be part of the state’s Tourism Development Financing Program, which gives developers a share of future state and local taxes. With this project, the program will essentially reimburse about 13% of the capital costs, according to city documents.

In 2023, an entity sharing an address with Shamin Hotels purchased the roughly 1.3-acre property for $4.75 million, according to property records. The site was formerly the location of a Hardee’s that was demolished earlier this year.

Shamin Hotels owns 82 hotels across Virginia, New York, Maryland, North Carolina and Florida, with 28 additional properties in development, according to Amin.

Capital Square, a Glen Allen-based real estate firm, is also planning a mixed-use apartments and hotel project on 2.18 acres at 1600 Roseneath Road in Scott’s Addition.