Mar. 26--The historic Linden Row Inn at First and Franklin streets in Richmond has been sold.

"We were looking to acquire a property with an interesting history," said Vishal Savani, a principal of First and Franklin LLC, the new owner. The hotel will be managed by his company, Savara Properties Inc., he said.

"The previous owner did extensive renovations, and we will continue to upgrade the hotel," he said yesterday.

The previous owner, Silver Linden Properties, acquired the boutique hotel in 2002. The Mumford Co., a hotel real estate broker in Newport News, handled that sale and this one.

Linden Row is made up of attached row houses built in the 1840s. It was named after linden trees in what was once a garden on the site.

In 1922, two original buildings were torn down to make way for the medical arts building, known as Linden Towers. The eight remaining houses were saved and donated to the Historic Richmond Foundation in 1980.

The property was restored in 1988 as a full-service inn and has operated as such since.

The hotel has 70 guest rooms, including seven parlor suites on the second floor. Most of the rooms are furnished with furniture from the midto late 1800s.

Savani, who is from Arlington County, said he wants to continue to make the hotel a destination for visitors so they can experience Richmond for its history.

"It is a unique asset that we wanted to add to our portfolio," said Savani, who is affiliated with a group that owns and operates other hotels. He declined to say how many hotels the group owns or where those hotels are located.

The sale was completed March 19. Savani declined to reveal the purchase price. The property was assessed in January at $3.05 million. Contact Carol Hazard at (804) 775-8023 or chazard@timesdispatch.com.

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