WASHINGTON, D.C. — Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. has closed a $120 million limited recourse loan that is secured by the Four Seasons Washington, D.C. The new loan replaces the previous $130 million financing that was encumbering the property. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. originated the five-year loan, which features a three-year initial term with two one-year extension options available to Strategic Hotels & Resorts.
Hospitality
ATLANTA — AWH Partners LLC has purchased the former Hotel Melia, a 501-room hotel in Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood, in an all-cash transaction. AWH will reposition the property into a dual-branded hotel, with both brands belonging to InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). After the renovation is complete, the new property will include 360 Crowne Plaza rooms and 102 Staybridge Suites rooms. The dual hotel is scheduled to open in January 2016. Spire Hospitality will operate the two hotels under a franchise agreement with IHG. Upon completion, the 25-story property will feature 31,000 square feet of meeting space, three restaurants and two lobbies.
MINNETONKA, MINN. — PCCP LLC has provided a $30.3 million loan to Sage Hospitality for the acquisition and renovation of Marriott Minneapolis Southwest, a 321-room hotel in Minnetonka, approximately 12 miles southwest of Minneapolis. The hotel, located at 5801 Opus Parkway, is situated on more than 10 acres. Built in 1988, Marriott Minneapolis Southwest is a 16-story hotel with more than 14,500 square feet of meeting facilities, more than 4,700 square feet of function space, a restaurant, lobby bar/lounge, fitness center and indoor pool. The new owner plans to invest nearly $10 million to enhance management and staffing of the hotel and implement a full renovation of the hotel rooms, function spaces, public restrooms, lobbies and elevator cabs.
LOS ANGELES – A pair of Marriott hotels have made their debut at LA Live in Downtown Los Angeles. The $172-million project includes the 174-room Courtyard and 219-suite Residence Inn LA Live. Today’s grand opening marks the West Coast debut of a Residence Inn and Courtyard by Marriott in one building – a joint development that offered substantial savings on land, staff and amenities. The project was funded by 320 immigrant investors from 14 different countries. The hotels are located at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Francisco Street. They are situated adjacent to LA Live on an entitled site that was acquired from AEG, which owns and operates the 4-million-square-foot sports, residential and entertainment hub. The hotels share a lobby, as well as 11,754 square feet of meeting facilities and 5,100 square feet of restaurant space. The guest rooms feature the first roll out of Samsung Smart TVs on the West Coast, in addition to fully integrated wireless connectivity for the TVs and PDA devices. The 371,000-square-foot project was built by SODO Builders, American Life’s in-house construction company. It was designed by GBD Architects. Construction was completed in two years, both on time and on budget. The hotels were …
MUNDELEIN, ILL. — HREC Investment Advisors has arranged the sale of a 92-room Comfort Inn & Suites in Mundelein, a suburb of Chicago. Oak Brook, Ill.-based Mundelein Realty LLC, which owns several properties in the Chicago area, purchased the property located at 517 Illinois 83 for an undisclosed price. Scott Kaniewski and Tom Sommer of HREC Investment Advisors' Chicago office and Scott Stephens, of the firm’s Tampa office represented the seller, Buffalo Grove, Ill.-based American Enterprise Bank, in the transaction. There are several demand generators near the hotel, such as Medline Industries, Motorola Mobility, and Six Flags Great America.
MILWAUKEE — Marcus Hotels & Resorts, a division of The Marcus Corp., has completed renovations on the 176-room Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. The renovations at the AAA-Four Diamond historic hotel are part of a multi-year, multi-million-dollar reinvestment in the property, which includes the addition of new club floors, a high-tech executive boardroom and a club lounge. Each bathroom features marble vanity tops and flooring, a separate commode stall for privacy and a tiled shower. The Pfister Hotel announced the completion of its VIP Club Lounge in April 2013. The lounge is located on the top floor of the hotel, offering views of the city and Lake Michigan. The new space includes a fireplace, bookshelves, workstations for individuals and small groups, Wi-Fi access, printers and televisions. The club lounge also offers guests breakfast each morning, snacks and beverages throughout the day and hors d’oeuvres and cocktails during the evening. The lounge is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Pfister’s new executive boardroom, Twenty 3, was also introduced last year. The upscale, high-tech boardroom incorporates unmatched presentation technology, multiple 4K LED monitors, including 3D, gesture recognition, iPad multi-media controls, surround sound and an iMac lab. The Pfister Hotel was …
SAN ANTONIO — Laurus Corp. has acquired the Marriott San Antonio Northwest Hotel. The Marriott is located at 3233 Northwest Loop 410 in the Northwest business corridor, just north of the interchange of Interstates 10 and 410. The hotel is the only full-service Marriott-branded hotel outside the San Antonio central business district and features 296 guestrooms, two food and beverage outlets, and approximately 8,500 square feet of meeting and banquet facilities, in addition to various amenities such as an outdoor pool, gift shop, guest laundry and business and fitness centers. Laurus Corp. will be investing approximately $16 million to upgrade the entire property to the new Marriott standards.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — InterContinental Hotels Group will manage a dual-branded Hotel Indigo and Holiday Inn Express hotel in downtown Austin. JCI Cos. is developing the hotel, which will feature 134 Hotel Indigo rooms and 171 Holiday Inn Express rooms. The dual-branded model allows for operating efficiencies, where guests typically share the same building structure or services, such as fitness centers, pools and food and beverage facilities. Some back-of-the-house operations may also be shared or separate. The hotel is expected to open by the end of 2016.
MILWAUKEE — The Ehmer Group has brokered the $7 million sale of the Hilton Milwaukee River Hotel in Milwaukee. A Delaware-based investment group consisting of several Canadian-based and domestic hotel operators purchased the 164-room full-service Hilton Hotel. The buyer plans to invest $8 million for renovations and to convert the hotel into a Holiday Inn. The Hilton license expires this month and the hotel will be operated independently as the Milwaukee River Inn until the Holiday Inn PIP and conversion are complete. Greenbelt, Maryland-based Chesapeake Hospitality Management will manage the Holiday Inn Milwaukee River. Richard Ehmer of The Ehmer Group brokered the transaction.
SEATTLE — Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers has acquired the 319-room Motiff Seattle hotel for a reported $130.7 million. The hotel is located at 1415 5th Ave., between Pike and Union streets in Downtown Seattle. It was formerly known as The Red Lion. The property went through a $20-million, multi-phase renovation in 2011 that added 22 guest rooms and increased meeting space by 50 percent. It was only recently rebranded as Motiff Seattle, making it the largest independent hotel in the Downtown area. The seller was a joint venture between Lowe Enterprises Investors (LEI), the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and a subsidiary of Allstate Insurance Company. LEI affiliate Destination Hotels & Resorts will continue to manage the property. The joint venture targets well-located, full-service hotels that maintain three-star quality and above that can be repositioned to capitalize on the market’s recovery.