This summer, downtown Lawrenceville is finally getting the full-service boutique hotel local insiders have been talking about for years. The Lawrence Hotel, a 120-room heritage-style property on the historic square, is slated to open with courtyard gathering spaces, two on-site restaurants and flexible event rooms. Steps from the Lawrenceville Lawn and the downtown square, the project lands as a kind of exclamation point on the SouthLawn buildout that has been adding new housing and street-level retail just south of the square.
Hotel details and amenities
According to the City of Lawrenceville’s construction updates, The Lawrence will fly Hilton’s Tapestry Collection flag and bring a roughly 5,000-square-foot conference center to the square, along with a restaurant and patio bar. It is also connected to a 380-space public parking deck the city notes was finished in early 2021. The city’s project page features construction timelapse images and status notes that track the final stages of work around the hotel block. City of Lawrenceville reported those details.
Restaurants, events and local partners
Local coverage notes the hotel will lean hard into food and drink. The property is set to feature two distinct venues: Bellfire, described as a Mediterranean-meets-Southern signature restaurant, and Old Nick’s, an open-air cocktail bar and lounge. NorthPointe Hospitality Management & Development is handling the project. As reported by Metro Atlanta CEO, the hotel’s marketing highlights a mix of indoor and outdoor event spaces designed to host both meetings and social gatherings.
SouthLawn's wider impact
The Lawrence is arriving as part of a much larger downtown re-do. The City of Lawrenceville says the SouthLawn project is "nearly complete" and includes more than 600 residential units and roughly 15,000 square feet of retail directly beside the Lawrenceville Lawn and the Historic Downtown Square. City officials and backers have pitched that combination as a way to put more neighbors within walking distance, with steady foot traffic to help sustain the square’s restaurants and shops beyond the usual rush hours. City of Lawrenceville provides the city’s status notes on SouthLawn.
From groundbreaking to opening
The SouthLawn concept has been a long time coming. The project was first pitched and broken ground on in 2018 as a roughly $200 million, 32-acre town-center development by a joint venture that included George Berkow Inc., Novare Group and Batson-Cook Development Company, according to industry coverage at the time. REBusinessOnline documented the original project scope and partners.
What’s next for downtown Lawrenceville
Recent reporting shows The Lawrence is already open for booking and lists its downtown address as 120 E. Crogan St., with booking dates beginning Aug. 28 and introductory rates displayed on the hotel’s website. Urbanize Atlanta ran the latest local roundup with images and booking details. City and industry backers say the combined effect of SouthLawn’s new residents and a boutique, full-service hotel is expected to stretch downtown Lawrenceville’s economy from daytime into the evening as this summer unfolds.
