BETHESDA, MD. — Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has closed on the $50.1 million sale of DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bethesda-Washington DC located at 8120 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda. The 270-room hotel features a business center, fitness center, coin-operated laundry service, restaurant, bar and lounge, meeting rooms and complimentary Wi-Fi. The buyer was undisclosed.
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICH. — Hilton and Kingsley Hospitality LLC have unveiled plans for a $10 million renovation of the Kingsley Inn in Bloomfield Hills. The historic hotel will reopen as a DoubleTree by Hilton in the fall of 2017. The updated hotel will feature a full-service restaurant, indoor pool and 11,396 square feet of meeting space. Neumann/Smith Architecture is designing the hotel’s exterior renovation. Hotel Investment Services Inc. will operate the hotel, which is expected to open in fall 2017. The hotel will remain open during the renovation.
When comparing hotels for valuation purposes, a common method of making adjustments for the difference between properties is to examine revenue per available room (RevPAR), a measurement of hotel performance. If executed poorly, these calculations can distort property value and lead to unfairly heavy tax burdens on hospitality owners. There are two different ways to calculate RevPAR. The first is to multiply the average rental income per room by the number of rooms occupied, then divide by the number of days in the period. The other method is to divide total guestroom revenue by the number of available rooms and divide that figure by the number of days in the period. In an article titled “Using RevPAR as a Basis for Adjusting Comparable Sales,” published in February 2002 by HospitalityNet.org, appraiser Erich Baum voiced a common argument shared by appraisers who advocate for RevPAR adjustments. Baum contends that the adjustments are appropriate because the revenue a hotel generates is tied to its location and the quality of its product. The question in valuation for property taxation is whether or not RevPAR incorporates additional, non-real estate values such as quality of brand, management, goodwill, etc., and whether or not the RevPAR …
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — Corporate Properties Trust I LP, a partnership between Transwestern Investment Group and Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., has closed on the acquisition of a 2.2 million-square-foot mixed-use project in a sale-leaseback with State Farm Auto Insurance Co. According to the Dallas Business Journal, the purchase price was $825 million. The partnership acquired the four primary office/retail towers and the connected structured parking garages. The campus is located within the CityLine development, a 186-acre project developed by KDC. The buildings are designated LEED Gold and are located adjacent to a DART rail line. Corporate Properties Trust I LP will own the properties through a REIT. The entity was created to allow long-term stable ownership of institutional properties. A wholly owned subsidiary of Transwestern Investment Group will manage the property. Located at 1150, 1201 and 1251 State St. and 3661 N. Plano Road, the buildings will house 8,000 State Farm employees. CityLine, which is located at the southeast corner of Highway 75 and the President George Bush Turnpike, will also include 1,700 apartments, a 150-room hotel, an entertainment center, medical office facility, retail, restaurants and a 3.5-acre park.
NEW YORK CITY — Developed by Nissim Seliktar and designed by Gene Kaufman Architect, Aloft Long Island City-Manhattan View is slated to open in November. Located at 27-45 Jackson Ave. in Long Island City, the 18-story, 74,000-square-foot hotel will feature 176 rooms. The hotel also features W XYZ bar; Re:mix lounge; Re:fuel, a healthy snack bar; Re:charge gym; 1,500 square feet of meeting space; a pool; and a 1,700-square-foot ground-floor terrace.
MEMPHIS, TENN. — Elvis Presley Enterprises has opened a new $92 million, 450-room resort at Graceland, a tourist destination and home of Elvis Presley’s Graceland Mansion in Memphis. The project, known as The Guest House at Graceland, is the largest hotel project in Memphis in 90 years and is expected to create 200 jobs. The hotel will feature a 464-seat theater, outdoor pool, conference rooms, outdoor meeting space known as The Lawn at The Guest House and an 11,000-square-foot ballroom. Dining options at the resort include Delta’s Kitchen, E.P.’s Bar & Grill, The Lobby Bar and the Shake, Rattle & Go coffee bar. The resort is the first phase of Graceland’s expansion, which also includes the addition of a 200,000-square-foot entertainment complex known as Elvis: Past, Present & Future, set to open in March 2017. The resort’s development team includes construction manager DreamCatcher Hotels and architect Hnedak Bobo Group. Boston-based Pyramind Hotel Group manages The Guest House at Graceland on behalf of Elvis Presley Enterprises, a corporate entity founded by The Elvis Presley Trust.
EL PASO, TEXAS — The Meyers Group has acquired the historic Camino Real Hotel in El Paso. The 356-room property is located at 101 S. El Paso St. in the city’s downtown district. The Meyers Group plans to completely renovate the property, which was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. After the completion of the 18-month renovation project, the hotel will reopen under its historic name, Hotel Paso del Norte. The historic 10th-floor ballroom and terrace, currently being used for mechanical purposes, will be restored and will feature a full-service spa, gym, pool and pool deck.
CINCINNATI AND COLUMBUS, OHIO AND FORT WAYNE, IND. — Walker & Dunlop has closed a $15.5 million loan for the acquisition of four extended-stay properties in Ohio and Indiana by Sandpiper Hospitality. The financing is a three-year, interest-only bridge loan to allow Sandpiper to complete the acquisition while the properties are stabilized. Walker & Dunlop’s Stephen Farnsworth and Geoff Smith led the lending team. Two of the properties were recently constructed and have not yet achieved stabilization, and three of the four will undergo a rebranding from a Value Place to a WoodSpring Suites this quarter. The Value Place franchise is currently in the process of rebranding all of its properties to the new WoodSpring Suites. Extended-stay properties within the portfolio include WoodSpring Suites Easton and Value Place Worthington in Columbus, Value Place Fairfield in Cincinnati, and Value Place Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne.
ATLANTA — Atlanta-based Monarch Private Capital and Nashville-based BNA Associates have begun the redevelopment of Hotel Clermont in Atlanta’s Poncey-Highland neighborhood. The firms are renovating the iconic hotel using Historic Tax Credits. Upon opening, the new 94-room boutique hotel will feature a restaurant and some of the original hotel’s art-deco design. Monarch and BNA worked closely with the city of Atlanta and the Georgia General Assembly, which passed House Bill 308 last year, raising the maximum tax credit allowance for historic structures from $300,000 annually to $5 million. The Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Association also supported the renovation and preservation of the landmark hotel.
LOS ANGELES — International developer Oceanwide Holdings has unveiled plans to include a five-star Park Hyatt hotel at Oceanwide Plaza, the company’s $1 billion mixed-use project currently under development in Los Angeles. The project is located adjacent to the Staples Center, home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, as well as the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. When completed, Oceanwide Plaza will feature three residential and hotel towers and a 166,000-square-foot, open-air galleria for shopping, dining and entertainment. Park Hyatt Los Angeles will be the sixth U.S. location for the luxury hotel brand. CallisonRTKL and Studio Munge designed the 184-room hotel. The property will be connected to the 100-foot retail and amenity area known as The Collection at Oceanwide Plaza. The development’s multifamily component will feature 504 units with concierge services, a private amenity deck and a two-acre outdoor sanctuary. Oceanwide Plaza is scheduled for completion in early 2019. Oceanwide Plaza LLC, a subsidiary of Beijing-based Oceanwide Holdings Co., will own the development. Oceanwide Plaza is the company’s first development in the United States, with projects in New York, San Francisco and Hawaii currently in the planning stages. — Kristin Hiller
