FORT MILL, S.C. — Shreeji Carowinds LLC has purchased the Plaza Hotel at Carowinds in Fort Mill. Located along Interstate 77, the 198-room property will undergo renovations and will be branded with a national franchise. David Mumford, Justin Pinkard and Steve Kirby with Mumford Company represented the seller, an institutional client, in the transaction. Terms of the release were not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Choice Hotels International has announced that development contracts have been signed for two new Cambria Suites hotels in New York City. The first will contain 194 suites and be developed by Extell Development Co. at 30 W. 46th St. in Times Square. The second will contain 140 suites and will be developed by We Care Trading Co. at 123-125 W. 28th St. in Chelsea. Both hotels will break ground this summer and open in early 2013. The announcement marks a series of first. The projects are the first Choice Hotels for each developer, the first Cambria Suites hotels to open in New York City and the first time multiple Cambria Suites hotels were simultaneously under development in the same market. The Times Square property will also be the largest Cambria Suites constructed to date.
HEALDSBURG, CALIF. — Paramount Lodging Advisors (PLA) has closed the sale of Hotel Les Mars, a Relais & Chateux luxury property located at 27 North Street in Healdsburg. The 16-room boutique hospitality property in Sonoma County reportedly traded for more than $4.8 million. Expanding its western presence, Chicago-based PLA will be announcing additional team members at its Denver and San Francisco offices in February.
ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. — A joint venture between DeBartolo Development and Impact Group has acquired Castillo Real, a upscale Ascend Collection hotel in St. Augustine. Situated on 2.2 acres at 530 A1A Beach Blvd., the 60-room hotel features La Cocina Restaurant, an outdoor pool and spa, and a fitness center with a steam room and a sauna. The joint venture purchased the property at a 51 percent discount to the outstanding loan balance. Terms of the transaction were not released.
MIAMI — Best Western International has opened Best Western Premier Miami International Airport Hotel and Suites in Miami. Located at 4100 Flager St., the property offers 114 guestrooms, a state-of-the-art fitness center, an on-site restaurant and bar, an outdoor swimming pool, a business center and a complimentary hot breakfast buffet. Additionally, the property offer more than 800 square feet of meeting and banquet space. The property is the first Best Western Premier hotel in Florida.
PEARL, MISS. — Mississippi-based Pearl Lodging has acquired Comfort Inn Pearl, which is located along Interstate 20 in Pearl. The two-story, 78-room hotel features guestrooms with wireless high-speed Internet access, premium cable, refrigerators, microwaves; a seasonal outdoor swimming pool and a fitness center. The property was acquired for an undisclosed price in an all-cash transaction. Anthony Falor of Hodges Ward Elliott brokered the transaction. The seller was not disclosed.
MIAMI — Brickell Hotel Group has topped off the 221-room Hampton Inn & Suites at 50 S.W. 12 St. in Miami's financial district. The 15-story, 169,300-square-foot hotel, which was designed by Miami-based Israel Bigelman, is scheduled for completion in September. John Moriarty Associates of Florida Inc. is constructing the property. Wells Fargo provided an $18 million construction loan for the property and a $5 million loan was obtained from Monday Morning Mortgage and Investment Co. The project is estimated to cost more than $36 million.
POMPANO BEACH, FLA. — Bethesda, Md.-based Urgo Hotels has acquired Ocean Point Hotel, a beachfront property in Pompano Beach, for an undisclosed price. Located at 1208 and 1200 N. Ocean Blvd., the nine-story hotel will be renovated to include 114 additional rooms, 3,000 square feet of indoor function/meeting space, 2,000 square feet of outdoor function space, a health club, an outdoor pool and a lobby. The property will reopen under a new flag in the fourth quarter.
NEW YORK CITY — Paris-based Louzon Group has acquired a three-story commercial building located at 347-349 Bowery in New York City's East Village from the Salvation Army for $7.6 million. The investment group plans to demolish the building and construct a 72-room boutique hotel with a Parisian restaurant on the site. Alan Miller and Robert Ortiz of Eastern Consolidated represented the buyer, and Jonathan Plotkin of Colliers International represented the seller.
SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. — 35 State Street Hotel Partners has acquired the 1920s-era Hotel Californian, located in Santa Barbara’s State Street Waterfront District, along with two neighboring parcels from M.F. Santa Barbara LLC. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Designed by Santa Barbara-based DesignARC in the city’s traditional Spanish Colonial Revival style, the three-parcel project is fully entitled for a 114-room luxury hotel, nine fractional vacation units and 21,557 square feet of retail space, with open plazas, paseos and gardens. The now-shuttered Hotel Californian was built in 1925; one of the hotel’s original facades will be restored as part of the new structure, which is envisioned as a boutique-style property.
