FRISCO, TEXAS — General contractor Brasfield & Gorrie has been selected to build a new 500-room Omni Hotel & Resort at the future site of the PGA of America’s headquarters in Frisco. The property will include a retail village, golf villas, a clubhouse and a variety of outdoor amenities. The PGA is relocating from South Florida to a 600-acre development that is slated for completion in 2022.
NEW YORK CITY AND LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. — Marshall Hotels & Resorts has opened three new hotels in metro New York. In Manhattan, the company opened a 68-room Wingate by Wyndham and a 79-room La Quinta by Wyndham. The Wingate hotel is near Madison Square Garden, Times Square and Central Park. The La Quinta property is near Times Square, the Empire State Building and the Theater District, as well as the LaGuardia, JFK International and Newark Liberty International Airports. In Long Island City, the company opened 140-room Wingate by Wyndham near Icahn Stadium and Arthur Ashe Stadium.
NEW YORK CITY — Marriott International Inc. has acquired W New York — Union Square, a 270-room hotel in Manhattan’s Union Square, for $206 million. Marriott plans to significantly renovate the 20-story hotel to include a spa and expanded restaurant. Existing amenities include a fitness center, five meeting rooms and three restaurants. “When W was launched as a single hotel in New York 21 years ago with ground-breaking design and a bold approach to nightlife, it pushed the boundaries of how people thought about a hotel,” says Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International. “Given how much travelers crave these types of experiences today and the brand’s global reach, we see limitless potential for the W brand with hotel owners and developers, travelers and locals.” The property, located at 201 Park Ave. S., adjacent to Union Square Park and two miles north of downtown New York City, first opened in 1911 as the headquarters for Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. In 2000, Rockwell Group converted the building into its current use as a W hotel. The purchase and renovation of W New York — Union Square is part of a strategy by Marriott International to reinvigorate the W portfolio in North America. The plan also includes …
LAS VEGAS — MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) has agreed to sell its Bellagio and Circus Circus resort assets on the Las Vegas Strip in two different transactions for a combined price of approximately $5 billion. Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT) will acquire Bellagio in a $4.25 billion sale-leaseback deal. As part of the transaction, BREIT and MGM will form a joint venture ownership agreement, with BREIT owning 95 percent. MGM will continue to lease, manage and operate the property, with an initial annual rent of $245 million. MGM also agreed to sell its Circus Circus Las Vegas resort to an affiliate of Treasure Island Hotel and Casino owner Phil Ruffin for $825 million. Both sales are expected to close by the end of 2019. “We will use the proceeds from [these transactions] to build a fortress balance sheet and return capital to shareholders,” says Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International. “These transactions enhance the company’s strategic and operational flexibility and reinforce its commitment to targeted new growth opportunities, including securing and investing in one of the integrated resort licenses in Japan and becoming an industry leader in sports betting in the U.S.” The sale-leaseback deal …
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — CBL Properties and Vision Hospitality Group Inc. have broken ground on a 135-room Aloft by Marriott in Chattanooga. The project is part of a redevelopment plan for a former Sears location at Hamilton Place mall. Aloft Chattanooga Hamilton Place will be located between The Cheesecake Factory and the future Dave & Buster’s. Amenities will include an urban-inspired design with loft-like guestrooms featuring nine-foot ceilings and keyless entry using a smartphone or Apple Watch. The hotel will be situated about 12 miles east of downtown Chattanooga.
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.