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US: John Dewberry, owner of Dewberry Capital, appeared in person to place the winning bid at an auction for a hotel site in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The shell of what was to be the Landmark Hotel was sold to Atlanta-based Dewberry for $6.25 million for it. He plans to make it the second of a string of boutique luxury hotels.
A former college football star – he played quarterback for Georgia Tech – Dewberry and his brother are also working on a first hotel project in Charleston.
He said he will bring an “understated elegance” to the property, and plans to add 55 rooms to the original 100-room concept.
“It’s kind of like buying a horse,” Dewberry, whose family races thoroughbreds in Ireland, told the Charlotteville Weekly. “You always feel good the day you buy.”
