MIAMI — Sonesta International Hotels Corp. and Florida East Coast Realty will break ground on a 252-unit Sonesta Mikado hotel in Miami early this year. The 40-story hotel, located at 1701 N.E. 4th Ave., will feature a restaurant and 14,000 square feet of meeting space. Additional amenities include a pool bar, a fitness center and spa room and a pool deck on the 12th floor. Miami-based Zyscovich Architects designed the property. Miami’s Sonesta Mikado is set to open in 2011.
KISSIMMEE, FLA. — Tampa, Fla.-based DSS Investments has purchased the 94-unit Econo Lodge Kissimmee from a Greenwich, Conn.-based hedge fund for $1.7 million. Located at 2934 Polynesian Isles Blvd., the units are spread across two three-story buildings. Robert Taylor, Lisa Zaranek, Richard Langhorne and Oren Cytrynbaum of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller.
KAPAULA, HAWAII — Honolulu-based Central Pacific Bank (CPB), under an agreement worked out among the lenders, is slated to replace Lehman Brothers Holdings as the administrative agent overseeing construction loans for Maui Land & Pineapple’s Ritz-Carlton Residences at Kapalua Bay in Kapalua. The New York bankruptcy court has scheduled a hearing at the end of January to approve modifying the loan and put CPB in charge of administering $120.1 million for the nearly-complete luxury resort condominium project. CPB, Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg and Deutsche Hypothekenbank will lend $55 million; Lehman will lend $35 million; $20.1 million is in existing commitments from the three banks and $10 million will come from the partners of Kapalua Bay Holdings – Maui Land & Pineapple, Marriott International and Exclusive Resorts. The Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences will feature 84 three- and four-bedroom whole-ownership Ritz-Carlton Residences in four buildings, and two buildings containing 62 two- and three-bedroom fractional Ritz-Carlton Club units, which will have 12 owners each.
TAMPA, FLA. — Supertel Hospitality has sold a 160-room Hampton Inn in Tampa to Bay View One for $7.35 million. The buyer obtained financing from a regional bank in Florida and will undertake renovations to the hotel, planning to keep the Hampton Inn brand. David Mumford of the Newport News, Va.-based Mumford Co. facilitated the sale.
NEW YORK CITY — The grand opening has been held for the new $31 million Holiday Inn Long Island City – Manhattan View, a 136-room hotel located at 39-05 29th St. in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City. The hotel totals 75,000 square feet; amenities include an indoor swimming pool, a fitness center, and wireless Internet access throughout the hotel. Many of the rooms offer balconies with views of the Manhattan skyline. Dining options include the hotel’s dining facility, 39 Below, and Swirl, a lounge that includes an outdoor patio. The Holiday Inn also features 1,000 square feet of meeting space. The hotel is managed by InterContinental Hotels Group on behalf of Queens Plaza North.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Cranbury, N.J.-based Sweetwater Construction Corp. has completed a new Homewood Suites by Hilton, located at 125 Route 17 South in East Rutherford. The seven-story hotel features 126 suites in a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. Six of the suites are equipped with Jacuzzis; other room amenities include wireless Internet access, satellite television, fully equipped kitchens and 37-inch, hi-definition LCD televisions. Hotel amenities include an executive business center, a 24-hour pantry, an indoor swimming pool, a sports court, a fitness center, a sauna and more than 4,000 square feet of meeting space. The hotel is located within the New Jersey Meadowlands, close to the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The hotel is owned by East Rutherford Hotel LLC and managed by Allentown, Pa.-based HMB Management. The project architect was River Vale, N.J.-based Michels & Waldron Associates.
NEW YORK CITY — The New York Supreme Court has denied a petition submitted by Soho Alliance, Inc. that challenged the status of the new Trump SoHo project as a lawful hotel condominium. The ruling sustains an earlier resolution of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals in May 2008 that upheld the New York City Department of Buildings’ approval of the construction of Trump SoHo as a “Use Group 5 transient hotel.” The project is currently scheduled for a fall completion. Rising 46 stories and 449 feet, Trump SoHo is being developed by a joint venture between The Trump Organization, Bayrock Group and The Sapir Organization. The building was designed by Rockwell Group, and will feature 400 hotel condominium units, including 10 penthouse suites and one Presidential suite on the top four floors. Other amenities include the restaurant Quattro, a luxury rooftop venue, a more than 11,000-square-foot luxury spa, a ground-level bar and 12,000 square feet of meeting space.
ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA., AND AUGUSTA, GA. — Orlando-based D&D Construction Services is expected to complete vertical construction on two 82-room Fairfield Inn & Suites hotels this month. The properties, which are being developed by State College, Pa.-based Shaner Hotels, are located in St. Augustine and Augusta. Both hotels feature meeting space and an outdoor pool and spa. The three-story St. Augustine hotel is slated for delivery in May, and the four-story Augusta hotel will be completed in July.
MILWAUKEE — West Bend, Wis.-based American Design-Build and North Liberty, Iowa-based Kinseth Hospitality Cos. have completed construction of a Sleep Inn & Suites located at the intersection of Layton Avenue and South 6th Street in Milwaukee. The three-story property, which is situated 1.5 miles from the west entrance of General Mitchell International Airport, houses 82 guest rooms. Amenities at the property include an indoor pool, a fitness center and a meeting room capable of hosting up to 35 people. Kinseth Hospitality Cos. will manage the Sleep Inn & Suites on behalf of Choice Hotels International.
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS — The grand opening has been held for the Embassy Suites San Marcos – Hotel, Spa & Conference Center, a $50 million hotel and spa located in San Marcos. The 10-story hotel features 283 suites, and the adjacent conference center totals more than 80,000 square feet. The conference center is owned by the city of San Marcos and managed by John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts. The hotel and spa is privately owned by John Q. Hammons and managed by his Springfield, Mo.-based hospitality company.
