SAN ANTONIO — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is opening aloft San Antonio Airport Hotel, which is located at 838 NW Loop 410 in San Antonio. The 69,158-square-foot hotel offers 141 loft-inspired guest rooms with nine-foot ceilings. Additionally, the hotel features a lounge area, a bar, a fitness center, an outdoor pool, and a food and beverage area. Partners of the project include Aimbridge Hospitality, Hillwood Investments, Champ Hospitality LP and JF Capital Advisors.
NEW ORLEANS — In what is being called the first major healthcare project in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, Birmingham, Ala.-based Brice Building Co. has broken ground on the $100 million Louisiana Cancer Research Center. The 250,000-square-foot property is located between the health sciences centers at Louisiana State University and Tulane University. More than 300 workers will be employed at the completed center. RMJM Hillier Architecture designed the project, which is slated to deliver in August 2011.
MACON, GA. — The Atlanta-based hotel management firm Hotel Equities has added the 83-room Candlewood Suites in Macon to its portfolio. The property, located at 3957 Riverplace Dr., is owned by Ashok J. Patel and Shree Ji Swamibapa Ji LLC. The extended-stay hotel features an exercise room and an outdoor pool.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Hilton Hotels Corp. has chosen Austin as a future location for its freshly-unveiled Denizen Hotels brand. Other locations include Abu Dhabi, Buenos Aires, Cancun, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Los Cabos and Mumbai. The chain of hotels is being touted as a global lifestyle brand that is targeted toward corporate and leisure guests. Initial plans for the hotel chain, such as features or size specifications of the properties, are not being released.
MILWAUKEE — InterContinental Hotels Group has opened the Staybridge Suites Milwaukee Airport South, a 118-room hotel located near the General Mitchell International Airport in the Milwaukee metro area. The $12 million hotel is the first Staybridge Suites in the city, and one of three scheduled to open this year in the metro area. The other two are underway in downtown Milwaukee and suburban Oconomowoc, Wis. The all-suite, extended-stay hotel, which is located at 9575 S. 27th St. in Franklin, Wis., is owned by Franklin Hotel Company and is managed by The Bricton Group.
PEORIA, ILL. — EM Properties has plans to develop a luxury hotel in downtown Peoria. The 500-room, Marriott-branded hotel will include the renovated Hotel Pere Marquette, as well as a new 14-story, glass-curtained tower on an adjacent site. A 500-car parking deck, which will include ground-floor retail and restaurant space, is also being constructed. Both the hotel and garage will be connected to the Peoria Civic Center via an elevated walkway. The $102 million project represents a public/private partnership, with the City of Peoria providing approximately $40 million through a bond issuance. Groundbreaking is scheduled for the fourth quarter, with completion slated for 2012.
NORTHBROOK, ILL. — InterContinental Hotels Group has unveiled the seven-story, 318-room Crowne Plaza Chicago-Northbrook, which is situated north of Chicago just 9 miles from O’Hare International Airport. The hotel has just completed a $16 million renovation from the Radisson flag, and changes include upgrades to all public areas, new meeting rooms, renovated guestrooms and an expanded business center. The hotel, which is owned and managed by Bays Hospitality Corp., is located at 27785 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Northbrook.
TAMPA, FLA. — Atlanta-based InterContinental Hotels Group is nearly finished with its remodel of MHI Hospitality Corp.’s 222-unit Crowne Plaza Tampa Westshore, which should deliver early this month. The property is located at 5303 W. Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa. The hotel features a 24-hour business center, more than 9,000 square feet of meeting space, a pool and a restaurant.
LAS VEGAS — The grand opening has been held for M Resort Spa Casino, a $1 billion resort located at the intersection of South Las Vegas Boulevard and St. Rose Parkway in Las Vegas. Situated on more than 90 acres on the Las Vegas Strip, the project was developed by Anthony Marnell III, chairman and CEO of M Resort, and Tony Marnell, chairman of Marnell Corrao Associates. The hotel portion of the resort features 390 guestrooms and suites ranging in size from 550 to 2,400 square feet. M Resort also contains nine restaurants and five destination bars, including a buffet, an Italian restaurant, a steak and seafood restaurant, a wine bar, a patisserie, a deli, a Mediterranean restaurant and a top-floor lounge. Entertainment options include a casino with 1,900 slot machines, a 12-table poker room, 64 game tables, and a race and sports book betting arena. The 100,000-square-foot Villaggio Del Sole Pool & Entertainment Piazza features a pool, concerts and other special events. The resort also includes the 23,000-square-foot Spa Mio. Finally, M Resort contains more than 60,000 square feet of conference space, including a 17,400-square-foot ballroom, multiple reception areas and a business center.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Shree Sambhav LLC has sold the 96-room Comfort Inn of Columbia/Ft. Jackson to South Carolina Sunshine Hotel Group for an undisclosed price. The three-story property is located in Columbia. The buyer plans to undertake renovations to the hotel and retain its brand. Matt Winston of The Mumford Co.’s Newport News, Va., office, Randy Lee of the firm’s Dallas office and Steve Kirby of Mumford’s Atlanta office represented the seller.