CHEVY CHASE, MD. — Grosvenor has begun a $35 million renovation of a 214-unit Holiday Inn hotel, located at 5520 Wisconsin Ave. in Chevy Chase. The property will be rebranded as a Courtyard by Marriott. The project also calls for adding 1,500 square feet of retail space to the adjacent Chevy Chase Plaza and will be complete by spring. Renovations include expanding the hotel’s capacity to 226 rooms and pursuing a Silver LEED rating. Low-flow shower heads and toilets, energy-efficient windows and a reflective roof are some of the planned environmental features. Grosvenor bought the 112,500-square-foot Holiday Inn and the 40,000-square-foot Chevy Chase Plaza in 2004. Tenants at the plaza include Saks Jandel, Brooks Brothers, Sylene’s and Bank of America.
DETROIT — After undergoing a $90 million restoration, the Doubletree Guest Suites Fort Shelby/Detroit Downtown has opened at the intersection of Lafayette Boulevard and First Street in Detroit. The site formerly housed the Hotel Fort Shelby, which first opened in 1917, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hilton Hotels Corp. will manage the Doubletree Guest Suites, which is owned by MCP Development. The 203-room facility is one of the only all-suite hotels in downtown Detroit. Additionally, the property features 21,000 square feet of conference and event space that was designed to achieve certification by the International Association of Conference Centers. Amenities of the conference and event component include hard-surface meeting tables, ergonomic conference seating, built-in audio/video and computer networking systems, and a comprehensive business center. Renovations also included the addition of the Finn & Porter restaurant, the Finn & Porter Sushi Bar, the Finn & Porter Round Bar lounge and a Bearclaw Coffee shop.
BLOOMINGTON, IND. — After undergoing $12 million in renovations, the Crowne Plaza Bloomington is expected to open this month. The 118-room hotel, which was converted from a Radisson, is located at 1710 N. Kinser Pike in Bloomington. Amenities at the four-story property include a fitness center, outdoor pool, full service restaurant, and 2,700 square feet of meeting space for business functions and special events. The facility is owned by Kinser Group, and is managed by Tristar Hotels Group, under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group.
OKEMOS, MICH. — Staybridge Suites Lansing-Okemos has opened less than 1 mile from Michigan State University at 3553 Meridian Crossings Dr. in Okemos. The three-story property features 95 guest rooms, including 53 studios, 30 one-bedrooms and 12 two-bedrooms. Amenities at the all-suite hotel include an indoor pool with whirlpool, 24-hour guest laundry and workout facilities, and a boardroom for business meetings. The hotel is owned by Peninsula Hotel Group, and is managed by American Hospitality Management under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group. The cost of completion for the project was $8.2 million.
NEW YORK CITY —A $55 million construction loan has been secured for a new upscale hotel currently under construction at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 48th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 25-story tower will feature 116 guest suites. Hotel amenities will include a library lounge, a wine bar and café, an executive boardroom and a fitness center with in-room spa services. The project will also include 3,800 square feet of retail space fronting Lexington Avenue, which will be located on the ground and first floors of the building. Completion is scheduled for 2010. The loan was arranged by locally based Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman. The project is being developed by executives from Hersha Hospitality Trust. Upon completion, the hotel will be managed by Hersha Hospitality Management LP. Terms of the financing were not disclosed.
TULSA, OKLA. — Oklahoma City-based HotelBrokerOne has completed the sale of the GuestHouse Inn & Suites located at 8181 East 41st St. in Tulsa for $3.6 million, or $38,000 per room. The 95-unit property was first constructed as a Residence Inn in 1982, but has undergone major renovations in the past 2 years. Mike Craddock and Bruce Holmes of HotelBrokerOne, along with Kamlesh Aggarwal of Sooner Properties, completed the transaction between the buyer, locally based SAMAATH LLC, and the seller, Nu-Gen Hotels. Acquisition financing was provided by First National Bank of Owasso through the SBA 504 program.
TAMPA, FLA. — McKibbon Hotel Group has opened the 144-unit Homewood Suites by Hilton Tampa Airport/Westshore at Avion Park Westshore in Tampa. Located at the intersection of Spruce and O’Brien streets, the property includes a fitness center and an outdoor heated pool. Units feature fully equipped kitchens, flat-screen HDTVs and free wireless Internet. The hotel will be managed by McKibbon Hotel Management. The Homewood Suites joins the Hilton Garden Inn and TownePlace Suites by Marriott Tampa Westshore hotels, which are both already open at Avion Park Westshore.
ALBANY, N.Y. — The grand opening has been held for Hotel Indigo Albany–Latham, a 107-room boutique hotel located in the Wolf Road business district of Albany. Owned by Shaker Hills Hospitality under an exclusive license agreement with Atlanta-based InterContinental Hotels Group, the five-story hotel features a fitness center, a 24-hour business center and approximately 1,200 square feet of meeting space. Food and beverage options include a Starbucks Coffee location and Blue Stone Bistro, which contains a 40-foot long bar and two separate dining rooms that can accommodate up to 125 people. The restaurant will open in January. The hotel was re-branded a Hotel Indigo after a $4 million renovation. DeLaCruz Enterprises provided interior design work for the project. The Albany location marks the second Hotel Indigo in New York.
NORTHLAKE, TEXAS — Carrollton, Texas-based Accor North America has held the groundbreaking for a new Motel 6 located in Northlake. The new hotel is the first corporate-built and owned property to feature the chain’s new “Phoenix” prototype design. Features include a new exterior designed by Dallas-based BOKA Powell; a 24-hour food and beverage vending area; and rooms that include a 32-inch, flat-panel television, a multi-media panel and wireless Internet access. The new prototype will also include sustainable features such as wood-effect laminate flooring made from pre-consumer recycled material and a building designed to house solar panels for water heating. The Northlake Motel 6 is scheduled to open during the second half of 2009. Accor has also begun renovating existing corporate-owned hotels in Texas and select properties across the country with the new design.
RIDGECREST, CALIF. — San Antonio-based K Partners Hospitality Group LP has broken ground for the development of a 94-room Hampton Inn & Suites in Ridgecrest. The three-story hotel will feature a business center, 800 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, a complimentary hot breakfast, an outdoor pool and spa, and a suite shop. The hotel will be owned and operated by K Partners.