ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Six Flags Entertainment Corp. has announced plans to reopen all 26 of its theme parks and waterparks throughout North America and is now hiring team members for the 2021 season. After shutting down in mid-March at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Arlington-based entertainment operator reopened 21 of its 26 parks at various points in 2020, implementing mask mandates, enhanced sanitation protocols and temperature screenings. Six Flags said that it is actively working with state and government officials to secure firm opening dates for parks in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Mexico and Canada that remained closed in 2020.
By Taylor Williams The decision by Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, to recently bring its investment sales services for the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) industrial market not only represents an opportunity to gain share of a booming market, but also to capitalize on a pronounced shift in buying patterns. COVID-19 has drastically accelerated demand for e-commerce services and industrial space on the leasing front. As investors that put new acquisitions on hold early in the pandemic regain their aggressiveness and as more capital sources diversify into the asset class, the line between requirements for institutional and private investors is growing blurrier. Ultimately, the shift in investment philosophy for industrial product in major markets boils down to private buyers targeting assets that have typically been considered institutional quality. This trend is a factor of several marketplace tendencies: the cautiousness with which institutional capital proceeds, the willingness of private investors to accept lower returns and the general mixing up of the Tier 1 industrial buyer pool. Like demand for industrial product from both tenants and the capital markets, the creeping of private buyers into the institutional space was taking place before the pandemic. But the overlap has become …
BETHESDA, MD. — Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) posted a net income loss of $267 million for 2020, which The Wall Street Journal reports is the hotel giant’s first annual loss since 2009. The company posted a net loss of $164 million in fourth-quarter 2020, which is a significant drop from its net income of $279 million in fourth-quarter 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic materially changed global traffic patterns for both leisure and business travelers in 2020, and Marriott’s hotels bore the brunt of the subdued demand for hotel rooms, as well as conventions and conferences. “With the global pandemic, 2020 was the most challenging year in our 93-year history,” says Stephanie Linnartz, Marriott’s group president of consumer operations, technology and emerging businesses. Linnartz, along with Tony Capuano, are overseeing Marriott’s day-to-day operations of corporate matters in the wake of president and CEO Arne Sorenson’s passing earlier this week. On April 14, 2020, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported its lowest travel volume of only 87,500 passengers throughout all TSA checkpoints nationwide, representing just 4 percent of passenger volume recorded on the same weekday in 2019. Average travel volume per day between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, which is typically TSA’s busiest …
BETHESDA, MD. — Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR), died on February 15 due to complications from pancreatic cancer. Sorenson was 62. Sorenson became the third CEO in Marriott’s history in 2021. Over his time at Marriott, Sorenson put the company on a strong growth track that included the $13 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “Arne was an exceptional executive — but more than that — he was an exceptional human being,” said J.W. Marriott, Jr., executive chairman and chairman of the board. “Arne loved every aspect of this business and relished time spent touring our hotels and meeting associates around the world. He had an uncanny ability to anticipate where the hospitality industry was headed and position Marriott for growth. But the roles he relished the most were as husband, father, brother and friend.” Sorenson was passionate about national and global issues, as he steered Marriott to make significant progress on diversity, equity and inclusion, environmental sustainability and human trafficking awareness. He had to reduce his schedule at the beginning of February to continue his cancer treatments. Stephanie Linnartz and Tony Capuano will continue to oversee day-to-day operations and corporate functions until Marriott’s …
SAN FRANCISCO — ACORE Capital, a global credit manager focused on commercial real estate lending, has raised $1 billion to launch ACORE Hospitality Partners (AHP). Backed by a group of institutions, AHP is an investment strategy focused on providing North American hotel operators with rescue capital to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. AHP’s strategy is to originate and acquire structured hotel debt investments, including senior and mezzanine loans, B-notes and preferred equity. The investment strategy will invest across the entire spectrum of hotel types, ranging from high-end luxury resorts to smaller limited-service hotels, focusing on assets in high-barrier markets with compelling rebound characteristics. “The pandemic has had a disproportionate and historic impact on the lodging industry leading to unprecedented distress and liquidity issues for hotel owners,” says Warren de Haan, managing partner at ACORE. “We formed ACORE Hospitality Partners to solve this liquidity crisis by providing hotel owners with the capital they require to continue operations and keep people working.” AHP will benefit from ACORE’s extensive experience originating and managing debt investments. Since its inception in 2015, ACORE has originated more than $4.2 billion of hospitality investments. The ACORE team includes more than 80 commercial real estate finance professionals that …
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) reported fourth-quarter revenue of $69.5 billion, exceeding the $68.7 billion projected by analysts, as the Rhode Island-based drugstore and pharmacy expanded its COVID-19 testing and vaccination services. CVS also reported quarterly net income of $975 million, down from $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019. In addressing the earnings report, CEO Karen Lynch said that the company expects to roll out a wider range of healthcare services in 2021. The stock price of CVS, which operates about 10,000 stores across the United States, opened at $73.57 on Tuesday, Feb. 26, up from $71.19 per share a year ago.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Walker & Dunlop has acquired FourPoint Investment Sales Partners, an Austin-based brokerage firm specializing in student housing and traditional multifamily properties. The FourPoint team of Chris Epp, Chis Bancroft, Kevin Dufour, Matthew Chase, Craig Miller and Kyle Peco will lead and scale Walker & Dunlop’s student housing investment sales division, with a goal of growing sales volume to $25 billion by 2025 for the Maryland-based company. The two firms have partnered as correspondents on student housing deals in the past.
ATLANTA — Chicken Salad Chick, a Southern-inspired, fast-casual chicken salad restaurant chain, will relocate its headquarters from Auburn, Ala., to Atlanta. The move is slated to take place during the first quarter. Chicken Salad Chick’s new office will be located in the city’s Vinings district at the Overlook II building, which is situated at 2839 Paces Ferry Road in Atlanta. The company’s new office is 21 miles north of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Scott Deviney, president and CEO of Chicken Salad Chick, says the company’s decision to move to Atlanta is the next step in its growth model. “This relocation positions Chicken Salad Chick to scale at an accelerated rate and meet aggressive growth goals, while allowing us to broaden our vision for the future,” says Deviney. “We’ve seen increased interest from Atlanta’s diverse and talented workforce, and the city’s airport allows us swift access to prospective vendors and a growing pool of interested franchisees.” Chicken Salad Chick isn’t the first restaurant chain to target Atlanta in order to grow. In September, Papa John’s announced it was moving its regional headquarters to Atlanta. The pizza giant chose The Battery Atlanta for its new offices. The new headquarters will house …
GREENVILLE, S.C. — United Community Bank, a retail and commercial bank, plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from Blairsville, Ga., to Greenville and expand operations in the Upstate area. The $24.8 million investment will create 227 new jobs in the Palmetto State. By establishing Greenville as its corporate headquarters, United Community Bank will be the largest bank headquartered in South Carolina. The bank has 160 branches in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee and nearly 290 employees. United Community Bank was founded in 1950 in Blairsville. In 2012, the bank began building its presence in Greenville County and now has three office locations in downtown Greenville apart from its branch network. United Community Bank’s new downtown office will be located at 200 E. Camperdown Way and will house a retail branch. The new office will be located near Falls Park and the Reedy River, as well as the upcoming Camperdown mixed-use development downtown. United’s new headquarters is expected to be completed by 2024.
DENVER — Avistone, a Denver-based commercial real estate investment firm specializing in the acquisition and operation of multi-tenant industrial properties nationwide, has appointed Charlie Muller as managing director of its newly formed Avistone Hospitality Division. “With the travel industry facing continued headwinds, a number of owners are opting to divest their properties and portfolios versus riding out the troubled forecast,” says Richard Kent, president of Avistone. “This creates opportunity for investment firms such as our own. “While we historically have focused on more industrial properties and business parks, our core expertise remains real estate investment, including identifying opportunity, capitalizing investments, repositioning properties, improving cash flow and enhancing value at disposition.” With nearly four decades of hospitality experience in operations, acquisitions, development, asset management and dispositions, Muller has completed more than $7.5 billion in transactions, including acquiring more than 75 hotels, developing/redeveloping 19 hotels and overseeing asset management practices for over 200 hotels and recreational properties. Prior to joining Avistone, Muller served at First Hospitality, Omni Hotels & Resorts, CNL Hotels & Resorts and CNL Lifestyle Properties. “Creating and utilitizing private equity funds, we will seek investments in limited-service, extended-stay, full-service and resort hotels throughout the United States,” says Muller. “We …