BUDA — Aries Capital has secured a $4.8 million ground-up construction/permanent loan for the 83-room Microtel, located in Buda. Leonard Smith of Aries Capital's Houston office arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, Longhorn Lodging Partners. The property will be managed by Caerus Hospitality Partners.
ALEXANDRIA, LA. — The 106-unit Econo Lodge Inn & Suites, located at 2716 N. MacArthur Dr. in Alexandria, has sold for an undisclosed price. Bryan Blanchard and Randy Lee of The Mumford Co.'s Dallas office represented the seller, Triad Hospitality, in the transaction. The buyer was Neptune Lodging Partners.
RICHMOND, VA. — The 53-room Econo Lodge Airport, located at 5408 Williamsburg Rd. in Richmond, has been sold. Sita Properties, the buyer, plans to renovate the hotel. David Mumford of Mumford Co.'s Newport News, Va., office, along with Steve Kirby of the firm's Atlanta office, represented Allen Management, the seller, in the transaction.
FORT WORTH — Homewood Suites by Hilton has opened a new four-story, 90-suite hotel, located at 6350 Overton Ridge Blvd. in Fort Worth. Platinum Hotels owns the hotel and Lodgestar Investments manages it. The new hotel features a fitness center, 24-hour business center, recreational activities and approximately 1,300 square feet of meeting space.
ATLANTA — Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has signed a long-term management contract to rebrand and operate the 42-story The Mansion on Peachtree, located at 3376 Peachtree Rd. NE in Atlanta. The hotel includes 127 rooms, a restaurant and lounge, meeting rooms, a 130-seat ballroom, fitness center, a 14-room spa, a 60-foot indoor swimming pool and 25 private, luxury homes. Robert A.M. Stern designed the hotel, which will be rebranded as Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta, in May.
AUSTIN — Houston-based Valencia Group has broken ground on the 123-room Lone Star Court, an Americana roadside hotel located at the Domain in Austin. The Domain is a mixed-use development that will span approximately 8 million square feet upon completion. The hotel will mix nostalgia and high-tech concepts with amenities such as an outdoor fire pit, a dipping pool reminiscent of swimming holes in Texas' Hill Country, a 1,800-square-foot open air lawn, a 1,600-square-foot outdoor pavilion, 2,000 square feet of interior meeting space, a restaurant and a bar. The new hotel is a throwback to the heyday of the roadside motor court experience. Jim Suggs of Dallas-based RTKL Associates is the lead architect, Lauren Rottet of Houston-based Rottet Studio is the lead designer and Christine Ten Eyck of Austin-based Ten Eyck Landscape Architects is the landscape architect. The hotel is slated for an early 2013 opening.
ROUND ROCK — Aries Capital has arranged a $5 million construction loan for a new 83-room Microtel, located in Round Rock. The property is owned by Longhorn Lodging Partners and will be managed by Caerus Hospitality Partners. Leonard Smith of Aries Capital's Houston office arranged the loan.
DALLAS — Sonnenblick-Eichner Co. has secured $17.5 million in first mortgage financing for the 300-room DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Dallas-Campbell Centre, located in Campbell Centre just north of downtown Dallas. Campbell Centre is a mixed-use property that contains the hotel and two 21-story office buildings, totaling approximately 875,000 square feet. The 21-story hotel features 14,966 square feet of meeting space. Sonnenblick-Eichner arranged the 5-year, non-recourse loan through a private real estate debt fund.
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — HP Hotels has sold the 130-room Hilton Garden Inn, Liberty Park, located at 2090 Urban Center Pkwy. in Birmingham, and the 95-room Hilton Garden Inn, Wildwood, located at 520 Wildwood Circle Dr. in Birmingham, to Summit Hotel Properties for $22.1 million. Helen Zaver of Marcus & Millichap's Atlanta office represented the seller in the transaction.
HOUSTON — Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown Hotel, located in Houston, has finished its 259-unit renovations. The updates include new carpeting, wall vinyl, window treatments, lighting fixtures, seating, upgraded cable and wireless Internet access. Chesapeake Hospitality manages the hotel, which features a 24-hour fitness center, an outdoor swimming pool, 12,000 square feet of event space and the Brazos Restaurant & Lounge.