WACO, TEXAS — AJ Capital Partners is nearing completion of Hotel 1928, an adaptive reuse project located at 701 Washington St. in Waco. The project reimagines the historic Grand Karem Shrine Building as a 33-room hotel with multiple onsite food-and-beverage options, as well as a rooftop terrace and 6,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The grand opening is set for Nov. 1. The hotel features “an inspired hospitality experience designed and developed by” Waco residents and TV personalities Chip and Joanna Gaines.
NEW YORK CITY — JLL has arranged a loan of an undisclosed amount for the refinancing of Westin Grand Central, a 774-room hotel located at 212 E. 42nd St. in Midtown Manhattan. Built in 1981, the property features 13,000 square feet of meeting and event space, a restaurant and lobby bar, fitness center and a 144-space parking deck. Kevin Davis and Mark Fisher of JLL arranged the floating-rate financing through funds managed by Apollo Global Management. The borrower was an undisclosed global investment management firm that has owned the hotel since early 2019.
HOUSTON — Arizona-based lender Arriba Capital has provided a $52.5 million construction loan for a dual-branded hotel project that will be located at 1319 Texas Ave. in downtown Houston. The property will feature a total of 275 guestrooms with traditional and extended-stay options under the Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites brands. Shared amenities will include an outdoor pool, meeting and event space, a full-service bar, fitness center, business center and a dining area for complimentary breakfast. Completion is slated for late 2025. The borrower and developer is Houston-based Neway Hospitality.
GEORGETOWN, TEXAS — Houston-based owner-operator CityStreet Residential Partners has purchased Stone Oak Ranch RV Resort, a 224-site property located north of Austin in Georgetown. The Boterra Group originally constructed the park in October 2020. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, dog park, playground, pickleball courts and onsite laundry facilities. CityStreet plans to rebrand the property under its Jetstream umbrella and develop an additional 200 sites.
STURTEVANT, WIS. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a 50-room hotel and restaurant building located at 910 S. Sylvania Ave. in Sturtevant, a southern suburb of Milwaukee. The sales price was undisclosed. The buyer, a private investor, plans to rebrand the property as a Super 8 by Wyndham hotel. Ebrahim Valliani and Michael Klar of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer and the seller, a private investor. Chris Gomes, Allan Miller and Todd Lindblom of Marcus & Millichap also assisted in closing the deal.
TILLMAN’S CORNER, ALA. AND MARYSVILLE, CALIF. — Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H) has announced the first two locations for its upper-midscale extended-stay banner, Hyatt Studios. The company has letters of interest for over 100 Hyatt Studios developments across the U.S. Each Hyatt Studios location will be sized to fit approximately 122 rooms, and will offer grab-and-go breakfast and a 24-hour market with snacks and ready-made meals that can be prepared in each guest room’s kitchen. The Chicago-based company has entered into a franchise agreement with 3H Group Inc. to develop the first Hyatt Studios hotel in Tillman’s Corner, roughly 10 miles southeast of Mobile. The property is set to open in late 2024. Presidio Hotel Development has entered into a franchise agreement with Hyatt for the second location, a 113-room hotel in downtown Marysville, approximately 45 miles north of Sacramento. The property is expected to open in 2025 and will feature dedicated meeting spaces. Extended-stay hotels have grown in demand over the past several years, in part due to the asset’s popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bask Development recently announced plans to develop eight Extended Stay America-branded hotels in Florida, and the development of 15 new hotels under the same …
By Rob Olivet, senior director, MGAC One of the biggest challenges that commercial owners and operators face regardless of market or property type is creating places where people want to be, both from an employer and user perspective. From multifamily and offices to schools and hospitals, the reality of built space today is that people are managing more of their professional and personal obligations remotely. As a result, owners, developers and managers across industries are looking to the hospitality industry for cues on how to be more intentionally user-focused and create reasons for people to want to occupy their spaces. When it comes to leisure spaces, the key is to deliver unique experiences that are hard to find elsewhere. The sector that has excelled at this more than any other is, unsurprisingly, hospitality. After all, hotels are specifically designed to cater to their guests. These properties are service-oriented, feature many amenities and focus on creating a sense of wellness, fun and relaxation. Developers that focus on student housing, higher education, office and even healthcare projects are making conscious efforts to construct spaces that are less institutional and more hospitable. For office and healthcare settings in particular — those in which …
BLACKSBURG, VA. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel located in Blacksburg. Situated on 3.3 acres roughly one mile from Virginia Tech, the hotel totals 94 rooms. An undisclosed Virginia-based buyer acquired the property, which was built in 2000, for an undisclosed price. Chase Dewese, Jack Davis and Joce Messinger of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Brian Hosey assisted as Marcus & Millichap’s Virginia broker of record.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Madison Realty Capital has originated a $240 million acquisition loan for a 526-unit single-family rental development underway in Orlando. The borrowers, Baseline Property Group and JSB Capital Group, also secured a $40 million mezzanine loan from a private foreign family office. The previous owner was not disclosed. Baseline’s sister company, Villatel, will operate the units as resort-style, short-term rentals upon completion. Situated on 77 acres along International Drive, the Villatel Orlando Resort will comprise 256 condominiums, 200 townhomes and 70 single-family homes. Many units will include private pools, movie theaters and arcade and gaming spaces. The resort will also feature a private $20 million amenity center that will include a clubhouse, water park with seven slides, lazy river, water playground, pool, fitness center, golfing swing suite, arcades, children’s playrooms and eateries. The resort’s initial homes are expected to be available for rent in the fourth quarter, and all units are expected to be delivered into the rental pool by summer 2025.
SAN FRANCISCO — BH Properties has acquired Anchorage Square, a 322,000-square-foot mixed-use property located in Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. The seller and price were not disclosed. Built in 1974 and situated on 2.6 acres, the development features 63,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a 128-room hotel, 28,000 square feet of office space and a 685-space parking garage. The buyer plans to implement an extensive capital improvement program, which will include upgraded façades, landscaping, lighting, signage, wayfinding and tenant and common areas. The firm will also explore alternative uses for the office space such as restaurant and entertainment options. Eastdil Secured brokered the transaction, and Laura Barr of CBRE will lead the repositioning and leasing efforts at the property.