CHICAGO — Sonnenblick-Eichner Co. has arranged a $265 million first mortgage loan for the refinancing of the 610-room JW Marriott Chicago hotel. The property is located at 151 W. Adams St.The hotel is part of a 1.1 million square-foot mixed-use property, which occupies a full city block in the financial district of downtown Chicago. A Wall Street investment bank provided a non-recourse, LIBOR-based floating-rate loan. The hotel occupies the lower floors of an iconic Daniel Burnham designed building, originally completed in 1914. The building is designated as a historic landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2008, the lower 12 floors were fully renovated and converted into the 610-room JW Marriott Chicago. Marriott International operates the hotel.
Hospitality
FREMONT, OHIO — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $1.8 million sale of Clarion Inn and Conference Center, a 157-room hospitality property located in Fremont, approximately 40 miles southeast of Toledo. The hotel is located at 3422 Port Clinton Road. The hotel sits alongside I-80/I-90, just two miles from downtown Fremont. Nearby attractions include the Fremont Speedway, the Sandusky County Fairgrounds and the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, which are all less than five miles from the hotel. Scott Brash of Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago downtown office represented the seller, a bank/financial institution. Lili Gewargis and Justin Westad of Marcus & Millichap’s Chicago downtown office represented the buyer, an Ohio-based private investor. Michael Glass of Marcus & Millichap’s Ohio office assisted in closing the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY AND NEWARK, DEL. — PM Hospitality Strategies has closed the second quarter with two hotel additions to its third-party management portfolio. The company entered the Manhattan market with the addition of Homewood Suites New York Midtown Manhattan Times Square South, which is located at 312 West 37th St. The 22-story property is the brand’s largest hotel featuring 293 over-sized suites, a two-story lobby waterfall and a seasonal rootftop deck and garden terrace. West 37th Street Operator LLC, a joint venture between The Buccini/Pollin Group, Albanese Development Corp. and Rockwood Capital, owns the property. Additionally, PM Hospitality added the 136-room Hampton Inn & Suites Wilmington Christiana to its portfolio. Located at 1008 Old Churchmans Road in Newark, the hotel is the company’s second new build to open in Delaware in the second quarter of 2014 and its first Hampton Inn & Suites property in the market. Both hotels are owned by The Buccini/Pollin Group.
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and The Howard Hughes Corp. have announced the Westin brand will open a fifth hotel in the Houston area. The Westin, The Woodlands will open in late 2015 inside The Woodlands, a master planned community 27 miles north of downtown Houston. The hotel will have 302 rooms, more than 15,000 square feet of meeting and pre-function space, an outdoor pool, gym, restaurant, lobby bar, pool and business center. It will be located in The Woodlands’ Waterway Development Square.
ATLANTA — RLJ Lodging Trust has acquired the 194-room Hyatt Atlanta Midtown for $49.5 million. The hotel, which opened in 1987 as a Wyndham, underwent a $23 million renovation and conversion to the Hyatt brand in 2013. Hodges Ward Elliott Inc. represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. RLJ Lodging Trust now owns 147 hotels and two planned hotel conversions in 21 states and Washington, D.C.
FARIBAULT, MINN. — The Opus Group has began construction on the renovation and expansion of an 18,500-square-foot project for Shattuck-St. Mary, an Episcopal boarding and day school in Faribault, approximately 50 miles south of Minneapolis. The project, which upon completion will be known as The Inn at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, will repurpose the historic Phelps Infirmary building into an on-campus inn. The new facility will include meeting and conference space for the school and community. The project will include a complete remodel of the 147-year-old building and will add 10,200 square feet of new space to the two-story complex. The first floor of the building will feature a large meeting room with adjustable partitions, a catering kitchen, bar and lounge area that can be used for meetings and events. The second floor will provide a total of 12 guest suites. Opus Design Build LLC is the general contractor on this project. Construction is scheduled for completion this fall.
NEWARK, OHIO — DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Worldwide have opened a new DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Newark, approximately 39 miles east of Columbus. The full-service hotel, located at 50 N. 2nd St., is within walking distance of downtown Newark and is a 35-mile drive from Columbus International Airport. The newly renovated six-floor, 117-room hotel includes a redesigned lobby featuring an expanded business center and work stations; guest rooms and suites equipped with modern furnishings and signature amenities; 5,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space; a 24-hour fully-equipped fitness center, heated indoor pool, and an outside patio with fireplace. The Jerry McClain Co. will own and operate the hotel. Columbus Hospitality will manage the property. This is the third DoubleTree by Hilton property in the metropolitan Columbus area.
BECKER, MINN. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $2.4 million sale of a 68-room hotel in Becker, approximately 47 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Crossings by Grandstay Inn & Suites is located at 14435 Bank St. The hotel was built in 2004. Jon Ruzicka of Marcus & Millichap’s Minneapolis office represented the seller, a limited liability company. Ruzicka, with the cooperation of an outside brokerage, also represented the buyer, a private investor.
NEWARK, CALIF. – The 127-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott has sold to Moody National REIT 1 for $11.4 million. The hotel is located at 39802 Cedar Blvd., just off Interstate 880. It caters to extended-stay travelers in East Bay and Silicon Valley. TownePlace opened in 2000. The seller was MN Newark, LLC. The sale was executed by Scott Griemsmann of Paramount Lodging Advisors.
SAN DIEGO — Trigild has named Jeff Santoni as its new hospitality asset manager. He will oversee operational performances and monitor sales results for all of the firm’s hotel properties. Santoni will also review and analyze key data, including operating budgets, competitive markets, sales, site inspections, guest satisfaction and performance. Santoni most recently worked as a consultant. Prior to that, he was with Marriott Vacations Worldwide where he worked as a senior asset manager for the Western and Hawaii regions. The San Diego-based real estate firm specializes in property/asset management and fiduciary services.