Los Angeles' Trio of Grafitti'd Hotel and Condo Towers Gets a Bidder

The DJIA was down 57 points while the Nasdaq fell 10, the S&P 500 was down 9 points, and the 10-year treasury yield was down .02 to 4.24%. Lodging stocks were modestly higher.

Baird said expectations for the global hotel brand companies are relatively high going into the 2Q24 earnings season. With still-sluggish domestic RevPAR growth trends, net unit growth is in focus. They expect 2Q24 results and updated guidance to reflect the sluggish domestic RevPAR, solid but normalizing international RevPAR growth, and improving net unit growth, particularly on the conversion front.

Parks Hospitality Group announced the opening of a new Tru by Hilton across from Mayfaire Town Center in Wilmington, North Carolina. The hotel has four stories with 101 rooms, 126 parking spaces, a pool table and games in the lobby, a market, a fitness center, and a business center.

A dual-branded Hilton hotel with up to 230 rooms will be built in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The two brands are Motto and Tempo. Dickson Depot Hotel LLC, led by investor Shash Goyal, will build the seven-story hotel. Goyal is the founder and CEO of iSquare Management, whose portfolio includes eight hotels. The new hotel on Dickson Street is expected to be completed in late 2026. Construction is planned to start by the end of this year. The hotel will have a sports bar and coffee shop on the ground floor and a rooftop bar and restaurant.

A hotel has been proposed by Somers Gateway Center LLC as part of the Somers Gateway development in the village of Somers, Wisconsin. According to the proposed plan, the hotel is expected to be a dual-branded Candlewood Suites and Avid comprised of 107 rooms, an outdoor pool, a conference room, and a 129-space parking lot. The hotel is part of a larger, 25-acre development that will include a gas station with a convenience store, two restaurants, and the hotel. The project could break ground as early as this year.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of a newly-built Candlewood Suites in Dothan, Alabama. The hotel features 106 rooms, an outdoor gazebo grill, and a gym. Candlewood Suites Dothan is owned and operated by Ram Dothan Hospitality LLC.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of a new-build Holiday Inn Expressin Alton, Illinois, 35 minutes from downtown St. Louis, Missouri. The hotel features 90 rooms, 1,492 square feet of meeting space, an indoor heated pool, and a fitness center. The Holiday Inn Express Alton - St Louis Area is owned by Alton Hotels, LLC, and managed by Amerilodge Group.

Coast Hotels Limited, a subsidiary of APA Hotel Canada, Inc., celebrated the completion of an extensive, multimillion-dollar guestroom renovation at the Coast Victoria Hotel & Marina by APA in British Columbia. The extensive revitalization included comprehensive updates to every room and suite, including new furnishings, bedding, fixtures, and full bathroom renovations.

Valencia Hotel Group announced the completion of its largest equity raise to date. This investment facilitates the acquisition of Cavalry Court and The George, two premier boutique hotel properties located in the heart of College Station, Texas. The acquisition of these hotels was made through the purchase of the controlling interest from Harrison Street. Harrison Street previously owned a substantial stake in these assets, and the transaction underscores Valencia Hotel Group’s strategic vision for growth and excellence in the hospitality industry.

Bunkhouse is opening its first Houston project this fall. Hotel Saint Augustine, located in the Montrose part of Houston’s Museum District, will boast 71 hotel rooms and suites across two floors, an all-day restaurant, a small event space, an intimate lobby bar, and a circular courtyard pool. The booking portal for Hotel Saint Augustine opened on July 22, with the hotel officially opening to guests in November.

Las Vegas developer Bob Schulman has plans to reshape the city’s hospitality and residential landscape with a pivot from luxury apartments to a hotel with a strong medical component in the Las Vegas Arts District and another hotel earmarked for Lake Las Vegas. Initially proposed as the Ilmunia Midtown luxury apartment project, the site, near Charleston Boulevard and Grand Central Parkway, is to be transformed into a hotel. While details regarding timelines for these hotel projects have yet to be solidified, Schulman’s latest developments are part of a larger shift to cater to a more diversified Las Vegas market, seeing sophistication and convenience.

A stalking-horse buyer has offered $500 million for the abandoned Oceanwide Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles. An unidentified Los Angeles developer is in talks to buy the trio of half-completed condo and hotel towers, according to the Wall Street Journal. The parlay comes as the graffiti-covered plaza, developed by China Oceanwide Holdings, heads for auction on September 17. Project contractors, including Lendlease, forced the development into bankruptcy. The project now includes three partially built towers of 40 and 49 stories, which have been abandoned since 2019. The project, as envisioned by Oceanwide, was to contain 504 condominiums, an 184-room Park Hyatt hotel, and 160,000 square feet of indoor shops and restaurants across a city block. Hilco Real Estate is working with Colliers on behalf of the project’s owner. The value of the as-is project stands at $434 million, according to an appraisal from Colliers filed with the bankruptcy court. A new owner would also have to spend at least $865 million to finish the job, which is now 60% complete. China Oceanwide had already poured $1 billion into the development.

PMZ Realty Capital LLC has closed over $40 million in recent weeks. Some of PMZ’s recent closings include a $11.3 million refinance loan of the Hilton Garden Inn Bel Air, located in Bel Air, Maryland; a $10.8 million loan of the Hampton Inn Hammond, in Hammond, Louisiana; and a $19 million loan to refinance the dual-branded Four Points and Fairfield Inn & Suites Amarillo, located in Amarillo, Texas.

Cronheim Hotel Capital has secured $42,312,400 for the acquisition of the 182-key Cambria Hotel Washington D.C. Convention Center. The Cambria was developed by Concord Hospitality in 2014. The Sponsor, Frontier Development & Hospitality Group, is planning a comprehensive renovation and rebranding of the asset to a Hyatt House flag.

Personnel Moves

Commonwealth Hotels announced the appointment of Jon Gustin as Vice President of Operations. In his new role, Jon will oversee the operational excellence and strategic growth initiatives of Commonwealth Hotels. Most recently, Jon served as the Senior Director of Operations for Placemakr. Prior to that, he held key roles, including Director of Hotel Division for Blue Water Development, Regional Director for Dimension Development, and Area General Manager for TPG Hotels & Resorts.

Trinity Investments has expanded its leadership with the addition of Rob Tanenbaum, Senior Vice President of Strategic Operations. Rob is responsible for overseeing the strategic operations of Trinity’s hotels on the East Coast of the United States. Rob most recently served as Managing Director and Head of North American Hotel Asset Management at Starwood Capital Group. Prior to Starwood, Rob served in Senior Asset Management roles at Park Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and DiamondRock Hospitality Company.

Choice Hotels EMEA has appointed Cedric Bartolini as Head of Commercial. Bartolini will direct and lead sales, marketing, revenue management, and distribution efforts for Choice Hotels EMEA.