KANSAS CITY, MO. — Arbor Lodging Partners has closed on its acquisition of the historic Hotel Phillips, a 217-room, full-service hotel in downtown Kansas City for an undisclosed price. The seller was The Marcus Corporation, which had owned the hotel for the past 14 years.
NVN Hotels, an affiliate of Arbor Lodging Partners, will manage the hotel, located at 106 W. 12th St., and Arbor Lodging will oversee an extensive renovation of the property. Upon completion of the renovation, the hotel will join the Curio Collection by Hilton, a collection of unique hotels appealing to travelers seeking local history discoveries.
The art-deco hotel, which has become an iconic structure in downtown Kansas City, opened in 1931 and has been listed on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1979. The hotel is commonly used for key business and society events.
Once the tallest building in Kansas City, the hotel’s unique architecture is a tourist attraction. Elaborate bronze and nickel metalwork stand out against lustrous walnut paneling, offering a uniquely luxurious yet Midwestern ambiance, according to Arbor Lodging Partners.
Today, the hotel features approximately 11,000 square feet of flexible meeting and pre-function space. The building also houses a restaurant and bar, 12 Biltmore, which features live music three nights a week. The renovation will add programming to brand the hotel as a unique local destination.
“We are launching our renovation of this beautiful historic hotel immediately to deliver a guest experience that takes advantage of all the amenities its downtown location has to offer and contributes to the revival of the heart of Kansas City,” says Vamsi Bonthala, CEO of Arbor Lodging Partners.
“Our hotel platform is in expansion mode. We want our hotels to offer communal spaces to work and socialize, healthy, local selections of food and for our guests to have an authentic and satisfying experience,” adds Sheenal Patel, a principal with Arbor Lodging Partners and CEO of NVN Hotels.
Arbor Lodging Partners is a Chicago-based national owner and operator of hotels. that makes investments in hotels, acquires loans secured by hotels, and, through its affiliate NVN Hotels, manages operations for its own hotels and those owned by third parties.
Following the sale of the Hotel Phillips, The Marcus Corporation’s lodging division owns and/or manages 19 hotels, resorts and other properties in 10 states. The company’s theater division currently owns or manages 675 screens at 54 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and Ohio. The Marcus Corporation is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis.
Jameson and Co. and HotelBrokerOne represented The Marcus Corporation in the transaction.