ANCHORAGE — Columbia Sussex has purchased three hotel properties, totaling 348 rooms, in Anchorage. Blackstone Group sold the assets for an undisclosed sum. The hotels are the 125-room Hilton Garden Inn at 4555 Union Square Drive; the 101-room Hampton Inn at 4301 Credit Union Drive; and the 122-room Homewood Suites at 101 W. 48th Ave. The properties were built in 2001, 1997 and 2003, respectively. Each property features an indoor pool, fitness center with hot tub, 24-hour business center, meeting space and recently renovated guestrooms. The hotels will continue to operate under their current names with current staff and employees. With 1,341 rooms in its inventory, Columbia Sussex claims to now be the largest full-service, year-round hotel operator in Alaska. The company also owns Marriott Anchorage Downtown and Hilton Anchorage, which it has operated for more than a decade.
CHICAGO — Service Properties Trust (SVC) has acquired the 261-room Kimpton Palomar Hotel in Chicago for $55 million. The hotel will be added to SVC’s existing agreement with Intercontinental Hotels Group. Built in 2010, the hotel is located at 505 N. State St. near Michigan Avenue. SVC is a real estate investment trust that owns a portfolio of hotels and retail properties and is managed by the operating subsidiary of The RMR Group Inc.
RICHMOND, VA. — Apple Hospitality REIT Inc. has acquired The Berkeley Hotel, a 55-room hotel in downtown Richmond. Apple Hospitality will upgrade the property to include services and amenities that are consistent with the rest of the company’s portfolio, although The Berkeley will remain an independent hotel. The property is located at 1200 E. Cary St., four blocks from Apple Hospitality’s headquarters. The seller was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY, LOS ANGELES, MIAMI AND CHICAGO — Queensgate Investments has acquired Freehand Hotels from a seller consortium including The Yucaipa Cos. and Sydell Group for approximately $400 million. Freehand is a lifestyle hotel brand, owner and operator of hotel assets with 922 rooms across four hotels in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, downtown Los Angeles, Miami Beach and River North Chicago. The brand advertises itself as combining the social culture of a hostel with top-shelf design, food and beverage. Included in the acquisition is the Broken Shaker bar concept that operates within the hotels. Generator, a hostel business that Queensgate acquired in 2017, will manage Freehand. Generator seeks to appeal to millennial customers, focusing on capital city addresses, design-led interiors and shared social spaces. “The acquisition of Freehand is of strategic importance to Generator, and the combined portfolio represents one of the largest asset-rich lifestyle hospitality platforms globally with 19 hotels in 17 gateway cities,” says Puneet Kanuga, investment director at Queensgate. “There is now a significant push to grow the presence of both Freehand and Generator across the United Kingdom and Europe, with opportunities currently being evaluated in London, Edinburgh, Milan, Amsterdam and other gateway European cities.” London-based Queensgate …
PORTLAND, HILLSBORO, ORE., AND SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO AND MILPITAS, CALIF. — Through its recently formed joint venture with GIC, Summit Hotel Properties has agreed to acquire four hotels located on the west coast for $249 million. The portfolio is located in three high-growth markets. The properties are the 258-key Residence Inn by Marriott Portland Downtown/RiverPlace in Portland; the 122-guestroom Residence Inn by Marriott Portland Hillsboro in Hillsboro; the 169-key Hilton Garden Inn San Francisco Airport North in South San Francisco; and the 161-room Hilton Garden Inn San Jose/Milpitas in Milpitas, Calif. The total purchase price of $249 million, or approximately $351,000 per key, represents an average capitalization rate of 8.4 percent based on management’s current estimate of the hotels’ net operating income for the full-year 2019. The joint venture plans to invest approximately $23 million of capital on the four hotels during the first three years of ownership. The pending transaction is expected to close in fourth-quarter 2019.
NEWARK, N.J. — Regal Hospitality Inc. has acquired the 191-room Holiday Inn Newark Airport hotel in Newark for an undisclosed price.. The property is adjacent to Newark Liberty International Airport and is located approximately 12 miles from the 80,000-seat MetLife stadium. Mark Rousseau of HREC Investment Advisors and Connie Mong of First Choice Real Estate represented the seller, a partnership between RJB Associates LP and Fundamentals Inc.
UPPER MACUNGIE, PA. — UL Verification Services, a global safety science firm, has renewed a 38,510-square-foot industrial lease in Upper Macungie, located approximately 55 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The space is situated within a 96,235-square-foot industrial building at 7036 Snowdrift Road. that is part of the Iron Run Business Campus. The property offers immediate access to I-78 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Jody King of CBRE represented UL Verification Services in the lease negotiations. Sean Bleiler of CBRE represented the landlord, Denholtz Properties.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has agreed to sell the 99-room Kimpton Topaz Hotel in Washington, D.C. for $33 million. The buyer was not disclosed. The hotel is located at 1733 N St. NW, less than a mile from The White House and two blocks from Dupont Circle. Hotel amenities include complimentary breakfast, a yoga mat in each room, electric car charging stations, 24-hour fitness center and twice-nightly wine hour.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Choice Hotels International Inc., along with general contractors Donohoe Development Co. and Kouchar Management, has started construction of Cambria Hotels Washington, D.C. Capitol Riverfront, a 154-room hotel. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2021. The property is located at 69 Q St. SW, three miles from the Capitol Building and walking distance to Nationals Park and Audi Field soccer stadium. Hotel amenities will include 2,500 square feet of meeting space, a ground-level restaurant, 3,500-square-foot rooftop terrace and fitness center. BBGM Architects designed the hotel.
TAMPA, FLA. — Hard Rock International has completed a $700 million expansion of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa. The development added a new 223,900-square-foot casino to the property, which includes an additional 1,000 slot machines and 41 table games throughout its new gaming spaces. The new casino brings the roster of gaming attractions up to nearly 5,000 slot machines, 179 tables and 46 poker tables.The casino now comprises 245,000 square feet of dedicated casino space, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The renovation also included construction of a 14-story hotel with 562 rooms and suites. Amenities of the new hotel include a 26,000-square-foot spa, three pools, two VIP suites, a hair and nail salon, barbershop and lounge. The top floor also features a private gaming parlor for VIP guests. Additionally, the construction included a 1,500-seat Hard Rock Event Center, where completion celebrations were held including performances from Atlanta-based rapper Big Boi and DJ Jazzy Jeff. New food and beverage options at the property include coffee café Constant Grind, the Pool Bar & Grill and Italian restaurant Cipresso. “Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa is already one of the largest and most profitable casinos in the United States,” says Jim Allen, …