PLAINFIELD, IND. — Sun Development & Management has broken ground on a new Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Plainfield near the Indianapolis International Airport. The 175-suite hotel is located at 6089 Clarks Creek Road and is slated for completion in spring 2018. Amenities will include complimentary breakfast, an indoor pool, on-site restaurant and convention center.
MCKINNEY, TEXAS — Aimbridge Hospitality, a Texas-based hotel investment and management firm, has released plans for the Craig Ranch Resort and Conference Center, a hospitality development that will be situated on eight acres at the corner of Collin McKinney Parkway and Weiskopf Avenue in McKinney. The property, which will feature 285 rooms and 33,000 square feet of meeting space, will be part of the 2,200-acre, master-planned Craig Ranch development.
Hoteliers are poised to see higher revenues in 2017, thanks in large part to the shrinking national unemployment rate, according to a new report from Marcus & Millichap titled “U.S. Hospitality Investment Forecast.” The unemployment rate, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports fell 20 basis points to 4.5 percent in March, is powering hospitality forecasts in several ways. Most fundamentally, as the economy expands and more jobs are created, wages begin to increase, leaving consumers with more disposable income for leisure and travel. Economic expansion also breeds more interstate commerce between businesses, driving up levels of work-related travel. In March 2017, the country added 56,000 jobs in the professional and business services sector, according to the BLS. Furthermore, since 2011, the U.S. has added between two and three million jobs per year. This growth has enabled workers to hold jobs for longer periods of time, giving them more accrued vacation days. Finally, as the workforce grows, younger employees gradually phase out older ones, leading to a growing segment of retirement-age consumers. These job-growth trends all point to increased consumer traveling and spending in 2017. As such, the hospitality sector is projecting a 1.4 percent growth in room demand …
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the $12 million sale of two vacant lots and a third lot with a warehouse building totaling 12,725 square feet at 814-826 Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn. Jakub Nowak and Jason Grunberg of Marcus & Millichap’s Brooklyn office represented the seller, Prezant Auto Glass, and procured the buyer, a private developer. The site is located near the Myrtle Avenue retail corridor, the Pratt Institute and G train subway stops. The three lots include 132 feet of frontage on Bedford Avenue and 100 feet of frontage on Park Avenue, and all are zoned for mixed-use development. The buyer plans to build a synagogue with a hotel or apartments above it.
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Home2 Suites by Hilton Rapid City has opened near Interstate 90 at 621 WaTiki Way. The hotel features 107 suites with fully equipped kitchens. Amenities include complimentary Internet, laundry, fitness area and daily breakfast. Liv Hospitality LLC owns and manages the hotel.
FRISCO, TEXAS — NewcrestImage, a Dallas-based developer, has broken ground on two hotels as part of a larger hotel campus project at Frisco Station, a 242-acre, mixed-use development in north Texas. The first two Marriott-branded hotels, an eight-story AC Hotel and a seven-story Residence Inn, will share a building, total 300 rooms and offer amenities such as an indoor pool, two lounge areas and free grocery delivery service. Both properties are expected to open mid-2018. The second phase of the project, which will break ground later this year, will deliver a 150-room Canopy Hotel by Hilton and a 150-room Hyatt Place.
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO. — Homewood Suites by Hilton St. Louis Westport has opened in Maryland Heights, a suburb of St. Louis. Developed and owned by Lodging Hospitality Management, the hotel consists of 121 suites. Amenities include complimentary breakfast, Wi-Fi, a grocery shopping service, outdoor patio, fitness center, indoor pool and putting green. The hotel is located at 2434 Old Dorsett Road and offers convenient access to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
EMERYVILLE, CALIF. — The 175-room Hyatt Place Emeryville/San Francisco hotel has opened in East Bay. The hotel is located at 5700 Bay St. in Emeryville. The new Hyatt has been a part of Emeryville’s ongoing downtown expansion and restoration initiative. It serves as the flagship hotel in Bay Street Emeryville, a three-block-long development. The retail mega-center features 65 stores, 10 restaurants, a movie theater and 400 residential units. Ensemble Real Estate Investments led the hotel’s development.
SPRING HOUSE, PA. — MRA Group has acquired the former Rohm & Haas research and development campus located at 727 Norristown Road in the Philadelphia suburb of Spring House. Now known as the Spring House Technology Park, the complex spans 591,000 square feet across 11 buildings. The 133-acre campus is located near the Fort Washington exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. MRA will renovate the park to include office and laboratory facilities, a hotel, co-working space, on-site daycare, a gym and a 40,000-square-foot retail village. The property was initially acquired in 1962 by Rohm & Haas Co. and developed into Spring House Technical Center, a research and development campus. The existing buildings were constructed between 1963 and 1995, with 75 percent dedicated to laboratory use and the rest used for offices. The Dow Co. acquired Rohm & Haas in 2012, and by 2015 Dow relocated its employees to a new facility in Collegeville, Pa. In 2015 MRA Group entered into discussions with Dow to acquire the property in its entirety, with closing occurring in late March 2017.
MONTEREY, CALIF. — A local private investor has acquired the 52-room Stargazer Inn & Suites for $8.4 million. The boutique hotel is located at 1046 Munras Ave. in Monterey. The hotel features an indoor pool and spa, breakfast room and parking. Many guest rooms offer fireplaces and partial ocean views. Eric Gunderson of Avison Young represented the seller, Monterey Signature Hotels, in this transaction.