HOUSTON — Hyatt North Houston, a 335-room hotel formerly known as the Crowne Plaza Houston North-Greenspoint and located at 425 N. Sam Houston Pkwy. E., has opened following a multi-million dollar renovation. Memphis, Tenn.-based Davidson Hotels & Resorts operates the hotel under a franchise agreement with Hyatt Hotels Corp. The property features a fitness facility, outdoor swimming pool, spa, business center, gift shop and Grill 425, an American-style restaurant.
NEW YORK CITY — Chesapeake Lodging Trust has agreed to acquire the 185-room Hyatt Place New York Midtown South in New York City, for $76.5 million. The hotel is currently under development at 52-54 W. 36th St. Chesapeake plans to close on its purchase following the completion of the hotel, which is slated for the third quarter. Additionally, the trust agreed to provide the seller $6.5 million in bridge financing for the development of the hotel.
MADISON, IND. — The Lodging Unlimited Group of Cos. has been appointed receiver of the Country Hearth Inns & Suites hotel in Madison by a Midwestern savings bank. The hotel is located at 308 DeMaree Dr. and will be operated by Lodging Unlimited's Chicago-based hotel management division. The hotel investment company reports a 50-year track record of operating and turning around troubled hotels. It is the eighth hotel currently owned and operated by the company.
COCONUT CREEK, FLA. — Doral, Fla.-based Morlin Hospitality Group has acquired a 2.5-acre site, located close to the intersection of the Sawgrass Expressway and State Road 7 in Coconut Creek, from a Peru-based university. The company plans to build a $12 million, 107-room limited service “flag” hotel on the property, the first hotel to be built in Coconut Creek. The flag has yet to be determined, but the company is in talks with a variety of hotel brands. Groundbreaking is slated for July, with completion anticipated for September of 2013.
DALLAS — The 170-room Stoneleigh Hotel & Spa, located at 2927 Maple Ave. in uptown Dallas, has become the newest member of the Luxe Hotels portfolio. The hotel will be known as The Luxe Stoneleigh Dallas Hotel & Spa in the second quarter of 2012. CAM Hospitality Management manages the property.
PHILADELPHIA — Optimum Hotel Brokerage has closed on the bank REO sale of the Spencer Suites (formerly Clarion Suites) in Manchester. Joseph McCann of Optimum represented the seller, a national bank located in California. The buyer was a local owner/operator. The 104-room property was developed in the early 1990s as a Generation One Residence Inn by Marriott. The asset was formerly held by an affiliate of Lehman Brothers. After the company's bankruptcy, the hotel was returned to its California-based lender, which hired Optimum to market the property.
MIDLAND — Marcus & Millichap has secured the sale of a 68-room Comfort Inn, located at 902 Interstate 20 W. in Midland, for $5.3 million. Tyler Bean, Michael Yu and Rahul Bijlani of Marcus & Millichap's Houston office represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the transaction.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Interstate Hotels & Resorts and joint venture partner Waramaug Hospitality LLC have acquired the 300-room Crowne Plaza Columbus North hotel, along with an unnamed private investment group, for an undisclosed amount. The hotel will remain as a Crowne Plaza and immediately undergo a $5.25 million renovation. ArInterstate is owned by a joint venture between subsidiaries of Thayer Lodging and Jin Jiang.
PITTSBURGH — RLJ Lodging Trust has completed three hotel conversions for $24 million, including a hotel in Pittsburgh. The 202-room Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh University Place was converted from a Wyndham hotel Jan. 1, 2012. The $9 million renovation upgraded guest rooms, transformed the lobby and freshened up the exterior. The projects also included an $8 million renovation at the 175-room Hilton Garden Inn Durham and a $7 million renovation at the 194-room Embassy Suites West Palm Beach-Central. All three hotels remained open while under renovation.
LINCOLNWOOD, ILL. — Podolsky Northstar CORFAC International has negotiated the sale of two mortgage notes that are secured by the property formerly known as the Purple Hotel in Lincolnwood. The value of the transaction was undisclosed. North Capital Group, a holding entity for two local investment and management firms, acquired the notes from the seller, First Midwest Bank. The property is located at the intersection of Touhy and Lincoln avenues and is situated on a 5-acre site. Randy Podolsky and Adam Tarantur of Podolsky represented First Midwest Bank in the transaction. The future plans for the site are not known.
