WICHITA, KAN. — WaterWalk Hotel Apartments has inked a deal with Rockford Development Group to develop eight WaterWalk franchises in San Antonio, Dallas, Austin and Denver.
Paul Roberts and hotel industry veteran Rob Mossburg are leading Rockford’s end of the venture. Under the terms of the deal, Rockford will become a WaterWalk franchisee. The cost of building the eight locations was estimated at $150 million. Rockford’s construction arm will also become the preferred builder for WaterWalk-owned locations.
Wichita-based WaterWalk’s hybrid hotel and apartment model is a play on the extended-stay model, combining traditional hotel services within a gated, apartment-like community. The complex offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans with the option of being furnished or unfurnished upon rental.
Amenities at WaterWalk include all-inclusive pricing, full-sized appliances in a modern kitchen, high-speed Internet, satellite television with premium channels and DVR, housekeeping, fitness club membership, a communal bicycle rental program, local transportation, and free breakfast.
Entrepreneur Jack DeBoer, founder of Residence Inn, Summerfield Suites, Candlewood Suites and Value Place, created the new concept, which opened its first site in Wichita in 2014. WaterWalk locations target corporate housing needs, holiday travelers requiring an extended stay and those moving to a new city or relocating.
The new development deal will expand WaterWalk to 27 locations once all properties under development are completed.
“It’s clear to us that the major brands are gravitating away from the true extended-stay customer in favor of shorter-term guests,” says Mossburg. “At the same time, the apartment renter has a cumbersome point of purchase and very little length of stay flexibility.”
“WaterWalk strikes us as essentially the first purpose-built furnished apartment,” adds Mossburg. “We are impressed with the approach WaterWalk has adopted in making economic returns for its franchisees its top priority.”
In 2015, WaterWalk signed a $100 million deal with U.K.-based private equity firm Henley to build five WaterWalk Hotel Apartments in Albany, N.Y.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Fort Lauderdale and North Orlando, Fla., with construction set to begin on March 16 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Later this year, WaterWalk will break ground on properties in Denver; Tulsa, Okla.; Raleigh, N.C.; Louisville, Ky.; Minneapolis; Kansas City; and Chicago.
— Katie Sloan