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Randy Foster/editor@cherokeescout.com Omar Zavala poses at the Mountain Vista Inn on Friday.
Murphy – A Georgia man has bought the Mountain Vista Inn, a local landmark overlooking Peachtree Street that has sat mostly vacant for years, waiting for someone willing and able to pay the $1.2 million price tag to buy it.
Omar Zavala owns Zavala Capital, a real estate investment and management company in Clayton, Ga. It focuses on markets in northern Georgia and western North Carolina.
Zavala said he has closed 50 deals in six years. His firm’s literature lists assets valued at $180 million.
He said he looks for good bones and potential when he considers a purchase. He aims to bring acquisitions like the Mountain Vista Inn “back to their former glory.”
Zavala said he plans to convert the inn into an extended-stay venue with 40-50 upscale efficiency units. One target market is people moving to the area who have sold their homes where they came from and are looking for real estate in the area.
Robin Sargent of Andrews-based Old Town Brokers, which handled the sale, said there is a huge demand for this type of housing.
“People looking for their dream home will have a nice place to stay while they are searching or building,” he said.
During the COVID pandemic, a demographic emerged as people realized that digital connectivity allows them to work remotely from anywhere.
“COVID trained the planet that they can Zoom to work,” Sargent said, describing Zavala as a pioneer in what will be a trend in four to five years.
“In five years, there will be 10 Omars.”
The find
Zavala has driven through Murphy often over the past year and a half. The underused facility caught his eye two months ago, and he told his wife that he would one day buy it.
“I could see what it would be some day,” Zavala said. Once he decided to buy it, he agreed to the asking price of $1.2 million and closed in 10 days – fully prepared to undertake the necessary renovations, outfitting and furnishing.
The 30,000-square-foot building will have an on-site manager, 24-hour maintenance, a gym and a business center. However, it won’t have a restaurant.
Utilities will be included – including internet – with a rental price point of between $900 and $1,200 per month.
He plans to rename the facility and install digital signage and a mural on the side of the building facing Peachtree Street that will depict a scene of local historical significance. The new name and the subject of the mural are still under consideration.
The building
The inn was developed by Los King Kong, MD, and Ai Choo Kong, Ed.D., and built by Roy Curtis. It opened in May 1982 and included a Chinese restaurant.
The building operated as a motel under different liveries, starting as an Econo Lodge, before it became the Mountain Vista Inn.
For a time, the now-defunct Learning Center charter school leased the Mountain Vista Inn for its seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders and planned to buy the entire building. The basement, which once was Murphy’s Blues Revue, has been used for three difference church’s services as well as a meeting place for other groups.
The lobby and restaurant appear as if the motel closed yesterday. The lobby includes a cabinet filled with travel brochures, and the dining room tables are still set for dinner service.
In an adjacent room, however, are rows upon rows of brand new refrigerators still in their boxes waiting to be installed, while workers comb the building, discarding everything old – outside, a Dumpster was filled with mattresses – as they prepare the building for planned renovations.
The response
“Great things are happening in Murphy,” Mayor Tim Radford said. “The Town of Murphy is thrilled to announce Zavala Capital Group’s plans to transform the Mountain Vista Inn into high-quality, well-maintained housing for our community. They’re committed to making this a property our entire community can be proud of.
“This project will involve significant renovations, creating an inviting new addition to Murphy’s landscape and ultimately adding about 50 modern apartments to our housing inventory. This project promises to bring fresh life to a great building in our town, while addressing our growing need for housing options. This is a win-win for Murphy, and I look forward to seeing this project come to life in the upcoming months.”