NEW YORK CITY — Gene Kaufman Architect (GKA) has received design approval from the NYC Department of Buildings for a Marriott and Residence Inn at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. In addition, The Lam Group has asked GKA to take over work on a Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn already under construction at 215 Pearl St. Together, the projects offer 870 rooms and represent 424,000 square feet of hotel space. The 540-room, 270,000-square-foot Marriott-and-Residence Inn at JFK Airport is being designed for Soundview Real Estate Partners and Chartwell Hospitality. The dual hotel property, expected to break ground later this year, will have 4,000 square feet of lounge and bar space and more than 4,000 square feet of meeting space. It will also have an office center, a fitness center and parking. Construction is already underway on GKA’s second dual-hotel project, a 330-room, 170,000-square-foot Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn at 215 Pearl St., which is expected to open in 2018. The Lam Group asked GKA to oversee the final design of the building created by the previous architects Nobutaka Ashihara, and to design the interiors for both the hotel’s public spaces and its guest rooms.
AVONDALE, ARIZ. — Virtua Partners has announced plans to build a 130-room SpringHill Suites Hotel in Avondale. The hotel will be a part of a 58-acre mixed-use site that’s situated one half mile north of Interstate 10. Quyp Hospitality LLC, an affiliate of Virtua Partners, will develop the property. The firm has partnered with Marriott on the project.
LEESBURG, VA. — LaSalle Hotel Properties has sold Lansdowne Resort, a 296-room hotel and resort located at 44050 Woodridge Parkway in Leesburg, about 33 miles from Washington, D.C. An undisclosed buyer purchased the property from LaSalle Hotel Properties for $133 million. Situated along the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, the property features 55,000 square feet of meeting space, Spa Minerale, The Golf Club at Lansdowne with 45 holes of golf, a health club and fitness center, indoor lap pool, four outdoor pools, driving range, tennis and volleyball courts, horseshoes and a business center. LaSalle Hotel Properties acquired the property in 2003 for $115.8 million. The company has also sold Alexis Hotel in Seattle for $71.6 million and is under contract to sell Hotel Triton in San Francisco for $14.3 million.
LAHAINA, HAWAII — Marriott International Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) has sold the Westin Maui Resort and Spa to a joint venture between Trinity Investments LLC and Oaktree Capital Management LP for approximately $317 million. The 759-room oceanfront resort is situated on 12 acres along Ka’anapali Beach in Lahaina, a town on the island of Maui’s western coast. Guestrooms are split between two 12-story buildings: the 553-room Ocean Tower, which recently underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation, and the 206-room Beach Tower. According to Bloomberg, the sale represents an effort to dispose of assets that Marriott acquired in its $14 billion takeover of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc., which was completed in September 2016. Under the terms of the transaction, Marriott will continue to manage the property. “The sale demonstrates the strength of the Westin brand and reaffirms our commitment to our asset-light strategy as we continue our merger integration,” said Leeny Oberg, chief financial officer of Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott. The deal raises Trinity’s volume of transactions in Hawaiian hospitality properties over the last six months to more than $600 million. As part of the agreement, the buyers have committed to providing capital improvements to the Beach Tower, as well as to the resort’s …
BEAVER CREEK, COLO. — Ashford Hospitality Prime Inc. (NYSE: AHP) has acquired the 190-room Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa in Beaver Creek, Colo., for $145.5 million. The seller was not disclosed. The property amenities include ski-in and ski-out access; a heated outdoor pool and five outdoor hot tubs beneath a mountain waterfall; an outdoor fire pit; spa; fitness club; and onsite ski rental and boot fitting. The hotel also features 20,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting space, and dining options including a bar and grill, café and a complimentary s’mores happy hour held daily at the fire pit. Concurrent with the acquisition, Ashford Hospitality Prime received a $67.5 million, non-recourse mortgage loan. The financing features interest-only payments, and provides for a floating interest rate of LIBOR plus 2.75 percent with a two-year term and three one-year extension options. The property will continue to be operated as a Park Hyatt under a management agreement with Hyatt. Ashford Hospitality Prime is a real estate investment trust focused on investing in luxury hotels and resorts. The company’s stock closed on Friday, March 31 at $10.61 per share, down from $11.67 one year ago. — Katie Sloan
SPRING, TEXAS — Woodbine Development Corp., CDC Houston and USAA Real Estate have broken ground on a 337-room Marriott CityPlace hotel in Spring, a northern suburb of Houston. The 10-story hotel will anchor the eastern end of CityPlace, a 60-acre mixed-use development within the master-planned community of Springwoods Village. Amenities of the hotel, which is set to open in November 2018, include a pool with a bar, two ballrooms and an outdoor event area.
SAN DIEGO — A local hotel developer has acquired 1.6 acres of land in Escondido for $3.5 million. The undeveloped parcel is located at 200 La Terraza Blvd. It is entitled for a 105-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel. Terry Jackson and Matt Davis of Cushman & Wakefield represented the buyer. The seller was San Bernardino Hospitality LLC.
IRVING, TEXAS — Preston Hollow Capital, a Dallas-based finance firm, has arranged $115 million in financing for the construction of Westin Irving Convention Center Hotel, a 12-story, 350-room hotel development in Irving. The property will offer 16,000 square feet of ballroom and meeting space, restaurant and retail facilities and a parking garage. Texas-based architecture firm BOKA Powell designed the hotel, which will be situated on a 17-acre tract adjacent to the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas. Austin Commercial LP is general contractor on the project, which is slated for an early 2018 opening.
BRYAN, TEXAS — William Cole Cos. has completed development of The Stella, a 176-key hotel in Bryan, a city near Texas A&M University in College Station. Located at 4100 Lake Atlas Drive, the property is part of ATLAS, a master-planned development approximately two miles from the school’s campus. Hotel amenities include suites with wraparound balconies, minibars in every room, 20,000 square feet of event and meeting space and an on-site restaurant. The hotel will open April 6.
MIAMI— An affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corp. has entered into a franchise agreement with Concord Aztec Brickell LLC for Hyatt Centric Brickell Miami, a 208-room hotel that will be situated within the 83-story Panorama Tower in Miami’s Brickell district. Located at 1101 Brickell Ave., Hyatt Centric Brickell Miami will feature a second-floor restaurant and bar, full-service spa, fitness center, swimming pool and 4,000 square feet of meeting and event space. Concord Aztec Brickell LLC is a joint venture between Aztec Group and Concord Hospitality, which will manage the hotel. Hyatt Centric Brickell Miami is expected to open in the third quarter of this year. When completed, the mixed-use Panorama Tower will be the tallest building in Miami and the largest residential building south of New York. The first two floors of Panorama Tower will include more than 50,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.