ORLANDO, FLA. — The 315-room Westin Imagine Hotel, located adjacent to the Orange County Convention Center at 9501 Universal Blvd. in Orlando, has sold to ERGS WI Orlando REO LLC. A bank group named REDUS Imagine LLC foreclosed on the hospitality property earlier this year. Daniel Peek, Max Comess, Michael Weinberg, Paul Hsu and Cyrus Vazifdar of HFF represented the seller, which was legally represented by the Orlando law office of Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed. The Pittsburgh, Pa., office of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott and the Miami office of Greenberg Traurig represented the buyer. Pyramid Hotel Group operates the Westin Imagine Hotel and will remain in place.
NEW YORK CITY — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Host Hotels & Resorts have opened the Westin New York Grand Central. The property was converted from the former New York Helmsley Hotel following a $75 million renovation. Features of the new hotel include 774 guest rooms, 12,000 square feet of meeting space and a 3,000-square-foot WestinWorkout fitness studio. There will also be THE LCL: Bar & Kitchen NYC, the first bar and food concept from Gerber Group in the Westin property. The Westin New York Grand Central is located blocks away from both Grand Central Terminal and the United Nations.
LUMBERTON, N.C. — Lumberton Lodging Associates LLC sold a 104-room Fairfield Inn, located at 3361 Lackey St. in Lumberton, to CHD Investments LLC. The hotel was built in 1994 and renovated in 2007, and it features an outdoor pool, fitness center and business center. Doug Henkel, Lewis Miller, Andy Wimsatt and Kym Halsted of the CBRE?Hotels group represented Lumberton Lodging Associates LLC in the transaction.
WEEKAPAUG, R.I. — New England Construction has completed the $20 million restoration of The Weekapaug Inn in Weekapaug. The company upgraded many of the property's features, while preserving the character of the original structure. The inn now features a private waste treatment facility, a new, three-lane pool and a newly constructed beach house that includes showers, changing areas and a restaurant. The original Weekapaug Inn was constructed in 1899, but was decimated by a hurricane in 1938. The following year, the Buffum family rebuilt the cabin in a new location. Weekapaug Inn & Cottages LLC purchased the property from the Buffum family in 2010.
ADDISON — NorthMarq Capital has arranged $14 million in first mortgage refinancing for the Crown Plaza Hotel, located in Addison. David Mott and Phillip Askew of NorthMarq's Dallas office arranged the loan through a national bank.
MELVILLE, N.Y. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged a $24 million refinancing loan for the Hilton Garden Inn, a 178-room hotel in Melville. The loan represents the second phase of a 350-room hotel development, which is owned by the principals of the borrower, Melville Equity Partners. Phase I of the project opened in 2004. Ernest DesRochers of NorthMarq arranged the 10-year loan through a CMBS lender.
ORLANDO AND CELEBRATION, FLA., AND SAVANNAH, GA. — Inland American Lodging Group Inc. (IALG), wholly owned subsidiary of Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc., has agreed to acquire a portfolio of three luxury hotels including the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando, Bohemian Hotel Celebration in Celebration and Bohemian Hotel Savannah Riverfront in Savannah. All three are founding hotels of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, a collection of artistically inspired boutique hotels. IALG entered purchase agreements with hotelier and developer Richard Kessler on the three properties. The acquisition of Bohemian Hotel Celebration is expected to close out all three purchases in January 2013.
ATLANTA — The 1,073-room Westin Peachtree Plaza, located in downtown Atlanta, has started a $45 million renovation, which includes completely redesigned guest rooms and hallways, an update to the six luxury suites and the addition of five rooms. A $3 million renovation of the Sun Dial Restaurant, Bar & View, located on top of the 73-story hotel, is planned to begin in the coming months. The room renovation is slated for completion by mid-November.
BATON ROUGE, LA. — RockBridge Partners has purchased the 290-room Hilton Baton Rouge Capital Center, located on the Mississippi River in downtown Baton Rouge. The property includes more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space, an outdoor pool, garden deck and the Viking Cooking School Outdoors. Dallas-based Prism Hotels & Resorts sourced the off-market deal and will manage the property, which will undergo a $7.1 million renovation.
MILWAUKEE — RockBridge has arranged a $7.5 million acquisition loan for the 103-room Best Western Inn Towne Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. The new owner, Magna Hospitality Group, is planning a $6.8 million renovation of the property, which will be rebranded as a Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott. Construction is slated to begin this fall. The hotel is located near the Frontier Airlines Convention Center and US Cellular Arena.