ATLANTA — A multi-million dollar expansion to the Emory Conference Center Hotel, which will add 127 guest rooms and 6,000 square feet of meeting space to the existing property, is slated to deliver in May. The five-story addition to the Atlanta hotel has been constructed to Silver LEED specifications. Features in the new building include a six-lane bowling alley, a ballroom and a seminar room. When completed, the Emory hotel will encompass 325 rooms, six suites and 32,000 square feet of meeting space.
Hospitality
DALLAS — HREC Investment Advisors has arranged $13 million in senior financing for the 228-room Doubletree Hotel – Dallas Market Center, located at 2015 Market Center Blvd. in downtown Dallas. The loan includes a 5-year term and a 7 percent fixed interest rate. The lender was a Texas-based bank. The Doubletree Hotel is owned by Market Center Lodging LP and operated by Alliance Hospitality Management.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — HREC Investment Advisors has arranged senior financing in the amount of $8.5 million for a Doubletree hotel in downtown Albuquerque. The 295-room hotel is owned by an affiliate of American Property Management Corp. HREC procured the 5-year loan at a fixed rate of 7.25 percent through a regional bank.
ATLANTA — FFC Atlanta has sold the 232-unit Clarion Hotel Atlanta Airport to a California-based buyer for an undisclosed price. The Atlanta property includes indoor and outdoor pools, a restaurant and more than 7,000 square feet of meeting space. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels represented the seller.
SAN ANTONIO — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is opening aloft San Antonio Airport Hotel, which is located at 838 NW Loop 410 in San Antonio. The 69,158-square-foot hotel offers 141 loft-inspired guest rooms with nine-foot ceilings. Additionally, the hotel features a lounge area, a bar, a fitness center, an outdoor pool, and a food and beverage area. Partners of the project include Aimbridge Hospitality, Hillwood Investments, Champ Hospitality LP and JF Capital Advisors.
NEW ORLEANS — In what is being called the first major healthcare project in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, Birmingham, Ala.-based Brice Building Co. has broken ground on the $100 million Louisiana Cancer Research Center. The 250,000-square-foot property is located between the health sciences centers at Louisiana State University and Tulane University. More than 300 workers will be employed at the completed center. RMJM Hillier Architecture designed the project, which is slated to deliver in August 2011.
MACON, GA. — The Atlanta-based hotel management firm Hotel Equities has added the 83-room Candlewood Suites in Macon to its portfolio. The property, located at 3957 Riverplace Dr., is owned by Ashok J. Patel and Shree Ji Swamibapa Ji LLC. The extended-stay hotel features an exercise room and an outdoor pool.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Hilton Hotels Corp. has chosen Austin as a future location for its freshly-unveiled Denizen Hotels brand. Other locations include Abu Dhabi, Buenos Aires, Cancun, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Los Cabos and Mumbai. The chain of hotels is being touted as a global lifestyle brand that is targeted toward corporate and leisure guests. Initial plans for the hotel chain, such as features or size specifications of the properties, are not being released.
MILWAUKEE — InterContinental Hotels Group has opened the Staybridge Suites Milwaukee Airport South, a 118-room hotel located near the General Mitchell International Airport in the Milwaukee metro area. The $12 million hotel is the first Staybridge Suites in the city, and one of three scheduled to open this year in the metro area. The other two are underway in downtown Milwaukee and suburban Oconomowoc, Wis. The all-suite, extended-stay hotel, which is located at 9575 S. 27th St. in Franklin, Wis., is owned by Franklin Hotel Company and is managed by The Bricton Group.
PEORIA, ILL. — EM Properties has plans to develop a luxury hotel in downtown Peoria. The 500-room, Marriott-branded hotel will include the renovated Hotel Pere Marquette, as well as a new 14-story, glass-curtained tower on an adjacent site. A 500-car parking deck, which will include ground-floor retail and restaurant space, is also being constructed. Both the hotel and garage will be connected to the Peoria Civic Center via an elevated walkway. The $102 million project represents a public/private partnership, with the City of Peoria providing approximately $40 million through a bond issuance. Groundbreaking is scheduled for the fourth quarter, with completion slated for 2012.