THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — The Howard Hughes Corp. and its subsidiary, The Woodlands Development Co., have broken ground on a new Embassy Suites at Hughes Landing, a 66-acre mixed-use development in The Woodlands. Hughes Landing is located on Lake Woodlands and is designed as a live/work/play community with a blend of retailers, dining, entertainment, multifamily residences and Class A office space. The 205-room, full-service hotel is set for completion in late 2015. When finished, it will span 172,000 square feet with 3,000 feet of meeting and event space, a business center, restaurant, rooftop pool deck and 24-hour gym.
Hospitality
CINCINNATI — Hyde Park Commercial Group has arranged a $12.3 million acquisition and renovation loan for a 220-key Wyndham Garden Inn hotel. An undisclosed buyer acquired the hotel and will implement extensive property improvements. Cincinnati-based Hyde Park advised and arranged a non-recourse loan facility, which includes a three-year interest-only term with two, one-year extension options. Hyde Park was able to arrange the full request through an East Coast collateralized debt obligation.
New Holiday Inn Express Under Construction in Trinity, Fla. Will Be City’s First Hotel
by John Nelson
TRINITY, FLA. — The new Holiday Inn Express in Trinity, a town in west Florida roughly 33 miles northwest of Tampa, will be the first-ever hotel in the city. The 86-room hotel will feature a swimming pool available 24 hours, fitness center and 46-inch TVs and Wi-Fi in every room. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Porperties Group brokered the sale of the hotel, which will be delivered in fall 2015. MPH Hotels will operate the new Holiday Inn Express upon completion.
DENVER — An entity related to ASAP Holdings has purchased the 263-room Sheraton Denver Tech Center for an undisclosed sum. The full-service hotel is located at 7007 South Clinton Street in the Greenwood Village submarket. The Sheraton features more than 12,000 square feet of function space, a restaurant/lounge, a fitness center and outdoor pool. It will continue to be operated by Interstate Hotels & Resorts. The seller was an investment group that included funds affiliated with Varde Partners, Waramaug Hospitality and Interstate Hotels. The transaction was executed by Mike Dube, Geoff Davis and Mike Cahill of HREC Investment Advisors.
SAN DIEGO – A 37,800-square-foot parcel in the San Diego submarket of Imperial Beach has sold to Imperial Beach Resort LLC for $5.5 million. The parcel is located at 1046 Seacoast Drive. The lot is bound by Imperial Beach Boulevard, Ebony Avenue and the Pacific Ocean. The site has been approved for a 79-room boutique hotel, 115 underground parking spaces, and 10,000 square feet of meeting, convention and restaurant space. It has unobstructed ocean views and direct beach access. The site is currently occupied by an apartment complex. Richard Murdock of Lee & Associates’ San Diego office represented both the buyer and seller, William R. Mundt Trust, in this transaction.
MIAMI — Swire Properties Inc. has topped off the 40-story EAST, Miami hotel, located at 89 S.E. Eighth St. in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. The property is the first of six buildings to complete vertical construction in Swire’s $1.05 billion Brickell City Centre, a 5.4 million-square-foot mixed-use development. The hotel will feature 263 rooms, as well as 89 apartment units, a signature restaurant, meeting rooms, swimming pool and fitness center. The project team includes Americaribe and John Moriarty & Associates. EAST, Miami is slated to open in winter 2015.
LEBANON, N.H. — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s eco-wise Element brand has opened its first hotel in New Hampshire. Located at 25 Foothill Road in Lebanon, Element Hanover-Lebanon features 120 guestrooms, a 24-hour fitness center, an indoor saline swimming pool and a meeting room with modular furnishings. The hotel, which is managed by True North Hotel Group, is a key anchor of Altaria Business Park, a mixed-used complex being developed by Norwich Partners. Once complete, the complex will include 300,000 square feet of research and office space, 42,000 square feet of retail space, up to 160 residential units, and conservation land.
PLANO and SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — NewcrestImage has acquired two Hyatt Place hotels in Texas. The first is a 127-room property on Dallas Parkway in Plano, and the second is a 126-room property on Hyatt Park Drive in San Antonio. Both properties span six floors with amenities including a gym, business center, outdoor pool and flexible meeting space. Hyatt Place in Plano is located in the Dallas Platinum Corridor office district. There are more than 40 million square feet of office space within five miles of the hotel, including the corporate headquarters of JC Penney, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Frito-Lay, Pizza Hut and Mary Kay. Hyatt Place in San Antonio is located along I-10, adjacent to the 288-acre headquarters of the United States Automobile Association. Also within five miles are the headquarters of Valero Energy Corp., the University of Texas at San Antonio and the South Texas Medical Center.
SAN ANTONIO — Equity Inc., Equity Velocity Fund I and 2GR Equity LLC have formed a joint venture to acquire Huebner Medical Center I & II. The 166,167-square-foot medical center is situated on 11 acres at the South Texas Medical Center located at 9150 Huebner Road in San Antonio. A major tenant is Methodist Ambulatory Surgical Hospital, which operates a 48,000-square-foot, 28-bed hospital on site.
CARMEL VALLEY, CALIF. – The 15-room Blue Sky Lodge in Carmel Valley has sold to a team of veteran hoteliers for $2.2 million. The hotel is located at 10 Flight Road. The sale also included two vacant parcels adjacent to the hotel. The buyers plan to redevelop both the existing hotel and the vacant parcels. They were represented by Rick Lahkar of Marcus & Millichap’s Oakland office. The seller was not named.