SCRANTON, PA. — Linchris Hotel Corp. has purchased the Hilton Scranton & Conference Center, a 175-room hotel located in Scranton. The new owner plans to renovate the property and replace the management company. Geoff Davis of HREC Investment Advisors represented the seller, Electric City Hospitality. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
Hospitality
NEW YORK CITY — The grand opening has been held for the Aloft Harlem. Located at the intersection of Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 124th St., the hotel is the first Aloft in New York City. The hotel contains 124 guest rooms as well as the 44-unit Apex condominium community and ground-floor retail space. Prospsera Hospitality is managing the property. This newest hotel is the 40th in the Aloft brand to open since its 2008 launch.
CHICAGO — Oxford Capital Group and Langham Hotels and Resorts are relaunching the development of Langham Chicago Hotel at 330 North Wabash in Chicago. Expected to open in 2012, the hotel will occupy approximately 375,000 square feet at 330 Wabash, including floors two through 13 and a portion of the first floor and riverfront plaza. The hotel will offer 330 guestrooms and suites ranging from 525 to more than 2,000 square feet. Additionally, the hotel will feature 20,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 5,000-square-foot ballroom with urban and river views. The hotel will also house a 9,000-square-foot chef-driven restaurant, as well as a wine room, a fitness center, an indoor pool and Langham's signature Palm Court and award-winning Chuan Spa. Oxford OG Hospitality Chicago is developing the project.
NEW YORK CITY — New York City-based MCR Development has acquired a 10-hotel portfolio for approximately $164 million. The portfolio contains a total of 1,100 rooms. The properties include six Marriot-branded hotels and four Hilton-branded hotels located in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The flags include Residence Inn by Marriott, Springhill Suites by Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Hilton Garden Inn and Hilton Homewood Suites. The properties average less than two years in age. MCR Property Management will manage the hotels. The seller's name was not released.
NEW YORK CITY — The grand opening has been held for the new Best Western Plus Prospect Park Hotel. The new hotel is located at 764 4th Avenue in Brooklyn and contains 99 guestrooms. Amenities include a fitness center, a 3,200-square-foot spa, a business center and meeting space. The hotel's owner is 764 4th Avenue Associates LLC.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — North Carolina-based Suite Development has acquired InnPlace Suites in Columbia for an undisclosed price. The two-story, 128-room hotel offers wireless high-speed Internet access, microwaves, refrigerators, coffee makers, irons, ironing boards, hair dryers, premium cable television, a seasonal outdoor pool and a fitness center. The buyer plans to renovate the property and reposition the hotel with Affordable Suites of America. Hodges Ward Elliott's Select Service Division represented the seller, ING Clarion Partners, in the all-cash transaction.
LEHIGHTON, PA. — Optimum Hotel Brokerage has completed the sale of the first-mortgage note secured by the Hampton Inn Lehighton, a 79-room, select-service hotel located in Lehighton. The sale was completed for 90 percent of the mortgage balance. Joe McCann of Optimum brokered the sale between the seller, a New York-based regional bank, and the buyer, a Manhattan-based private real estate investment company.
ATLANTA — Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has received a $52.5 million secured loan from Goldman Sachs Commercial Mortgage Capital. The 5-year loan, which carries a 4.88 percent fixed-annualized interest rate, was collateralized by the 422-unit InterContinental Buckhead Hotel in Altanta's Buckhead district. Proceeds from the loan will be used to fund future acquisitions and for general business purposes.
SAN ANTONIO — Houston-based XE Hospitality, represented by JJ Williams and Jason Brumm of Grubb & Ellis, has purchased 3 acres of land in northwest San Antonio from Thomas Enterprises. The company intends to use the land to develop a Hilton Garden Inn. The hotel calls for 130 rooms and 3,000 square feet of meeting space and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2012. It is located in The Rim, a master-planned, 2 million-square-foot, mixed-use center developed by Thomas Enterprises at the intersection of Interstate 10 and La Cantera Parkway.
CANNON BEACH, ORE. — Sonnenblick-Eichner Co. has arranged $20.5 million in first-mortgage financing for the 97-room Surfsand Resort, located at 148 West Gower in Cannon Beach. To be used to pay off an existing renovation and redevelopment loan previously placed by Sonnenblick-Eichner, the new 5-year, LIBOR-based, non-recourse loan was financed by a private debt fund. The full-service resort underwent a $13.2 million renovation and redevelopment in 2008. Situated 90 minutes from Portland and approximately 3 hours from Seattle by car, Surfsand Resort offers a restaurant with a lounge and bar, a spa, a fitness center, an indoor pool and 3,600 square feet of meeting space.