STAMFORD, CONN., AND BETHESDA, MD.— Stockholders from Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) have approved Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood. The new entity will be the world’s largest hotel company with 30 brands, approximately 5,700 hotels and 1.1 million hotel rooms. The shareholder vote conducted at each company on April 8 passed easily with 97 percent of Marriott’s shareholders approving the transaction and 95 percent of Starwood’s shareholders approving the deal. “There is no doubt that this transaction puts our company on the best path forward,” says Thomas Mangas, Starwood’s CEO. “We remain excited about the opportunity this combination will create for our stockholders, associates, owners and guests.” At closing, Starwood stockholders will receive 0.8 shares of Marriott common stock, plus $21 in cash for each share of Starwood common stock. The transaction is on target to close by the middle of this year.
SAN CARLOS, CALIF. — R.D. Olson Development has broken ground on the 204-room Residence Inn by Marriott Silicon Valley in San Carlos. The hotel will be located at 595 Industrial Road. Residence Inn by Marriott Silicon Valley is situated immediately adjacent to the 101 Freeway, within two miles of Oracle’s headquarters. The area is home to 16 Fortune 500 companies, including Apple, Intel, Facebook and Google. The hotel will offer 1,500 square feet of meeting and pre-function space, a fitness center, full-service business center, pool, spa, and an outdoor patio with fire pits and a sports court. Deacon Corp. will build the hotel, which DLR Group will design.
WASHINGTON — U.S. commercial property transaction volume is expected to decline over the next three years to $475 billion in 2018, according to a new economic forecast from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Center for Capital Markets and Real Estate. The latest ULI Real Estate Consensus Forecast, a semi-annual outlook, is based on a survey of 48 of the industry’s top economists and analysts representing 36 of the country’s leading real estate investment, advisory and research firms and organizations. The survey provides forecasts on broad economic indicators such as real estate capital markets, property investment returns, vacancy and rental rates and housing starts and prices. The recently released consensus forecast calls for continued economic expansion over the next three years, but at a somewhat slower pace than the prior two years. It also anticipates continued commercial price appreciation and positive returns, but at more subdued and decelerating rates, and above average but decelerating rent growth rates in all property sectors. “Compared to six months ago, real estate researchers are predicting slower economic growth, slipping real estate fundamentals and lower returns from both the public and private markets,” says William Maher, ULI leader, survey participant and director of North American strategy for …
MONTEREY, CALIF. — San Carlos Associates has received $65 million in first-mortgage debt for the 341-room Marriott Monterey Hotel. The AAA-rated, Four Diamond hotel is located at 350 Calle Principal in downtown Monterey. Marriott Monterey Hotel sits adjacent to the Monterey Conference Center in the downtown retail district. The 10-story hotel includes about 16,500 square feet of meeting space, a spa, two restaurants and subterranean parking for 142 cars. A European Money Center bank provided the 10-year, fixed-rate financing, which was underwritten at a debt yield below 10 percent. Sonnenblick-Eichner Co. arranged the financing.
MICHIGAN CITY, IND. — SVN | Property Investment Advisors LLC has arranged the $1.9 million sale of a 117-room hotel property in Michigan City, approximately 35 miles west of South Bend. Raj Patel and partners purchased the Clarion Inn & Suites from R&K Investment Corp. Robert Pliska of SVN| Property Investment Advisors brokered the sale.
HILLSIDE, ILL. — Metro Commons Hospitality has sold a 135-room hotel property to a private buyer for an undisclosed price. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Chicago West is located at 200 S. Mannheim Road in Hillside, approximately 15 miles west of Chicago. The buyer plans to renovate the property to meet the new InterContinental Hotel Group standards. Nate Sahn, Brian Silberman, Stanley Wang and Scott Miller of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.
FARGO, N.D. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $30 million sale of a two-property hospitality portfolio in Fargo. The hotels are comprised of 387 rooms collectively and are located on the same site at the intersection of I-29 and 13th Avenue South. The purchase price equates to more than $77,500 per room. A Los Angeles-based private equity group sold the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express to an undisclosed local investor. The Holiday Inn has completed more than $10 million in renovations since 2000, including a complete remodeling of the guest rooms in 2006, and The Holiday Inn Express was fully renovated in 2014. Both hotels come with 15-year branding licenses that expire in 2030. Shane Skubis of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction and procured the buyer.
CINCINNATI — The AC Hotel Cincinnati by Marriott has opened at Liberty Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use development. Raymond Management Co. is the developer and operator of the 130-room hotel. Amenities at the hotel include a fitness center, indoor pool, on-site parking, local restaurant dinner delivery and a full-service business center. The property also features AC-branded amenities such as a kitchen, lounge, store, library and meeting space. The 64-acre Liberty Center includes over 800,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, 75,000 square feet of office space and 240 luxury apartment units. The shopping district opened last October.
HOUSTON — Simon Property Group plans to add a luxury hotel and residential tower to The Galleria, a premier shopping destination in Houston. The hotel and residences, which will both be located in the same building, will be situated on the corner of Sage and West Alabama streets. The project is part of a multi-year transformation of The Galleria, which began with the creation of a 200,000-square-foot flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store adjacent to the current location. Once the new Saks store opens later this month, Simon will convert the existing Saks store into a multi-level mall extension featuring 110,000 square feet of space. The tower will be on the site of a former Macy’s store and will span between 25 and 30 stories. Groundbreaking is expected in late 2017.
ROCKLAND, MASS. — Hilton Worldwide has open DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Rockland, located at 929 Hingham St. in Rockland on Massachusetts’ South Shore. Located 21 miles south of Boston Logan International Airport, the hotel features 127 guest rooms, 24-hour room service, a fitness center, business center and an outdoor heated pool. Additionally, the property offers 4,000 square feet of meeting space. Formerly a Holiday Inn, the hotel is owned and managed by Linchris Hotel Corp.