NATIONAL REPORT—Lightstone has acquired the 183-key Hilton Garden Inn in New York; Scarlett Hotel Group has acquired its third Marriott as part of the company’s strategic growth plan; and there’s more.
Lightstone Snaps Up Hilton Garden Inn in NYC
Lightstone acquired the Hilton Garden Inn in Long Island City, adding to its hospitality portfolio in New York.
The 183-key hotel was purchased for $60 million. The hotel, constructed in 2015, is located at 29-21 41st Ave., across from a number of large office developments and within walking distance from the recently reinvigorated Queens Plaza and surrounding transit hubs. For the immediate future, Lightstone plans to continue operation of the hotel as a Hilton Garden Inn.
Lightstone has established a wide-ranging hospitality portfolio across the country, including 29 hotels totaling 3,929 keys. With properties in 19 states across the country, Lightstone has a diversified portfolio that includes brands like Hampton, Courtyard by Marriott, Moxy Hotels and Holiday Inn.
In addition to Moxy Times Square, acquired in 2017, Lightstone plans to develop six additional Moxy hotels nationally, including the 349-key Moxy Chelsea, a new-construction project, which recently topped out at 37 stories and plans to open in the fall. Outside of New York City, Lightstone plans to develop additional Moxy properties in South Beach, Miami, as well as downtown Los Angeles and West Hollywood, CA.
Scarlett Hotel Group Buys Third Marriott
Scarlett Hotel Group (SHG) has acquired its third property, the 113-room Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites Downtown Omaha in Nebraska.
“We formed our company in 2017 to be in the vanguard of millennial entrepreneurs who will lead the hotel industry into the next generation. Our intent is to own and operate with a fresh new approach, using cutting-edge technology and a culture-focused environment,” said Rob Sadoff, SHG principal. “SHG’s platform is to continue to grow in an aggressive manner without losing its start-up feel. All SHG team members have 24/7 access to all of the principals.”
Located at 1501 Nicholas St., the custom-built, four-story hotel recently completed a multimillion-dollar renovation that upgraded all public spaces, including a completely revamped lobby and guestrooms.
“We seek to aggressively grow through all phases of the real estate cycle and have access to substantial capital for the right deals. We are ‘market-unistic’ and seek primary locations in secondary markets or secondary locations in primary markets,” said Zio Pekovic, SHG principal. “To date, we have acquired $55 million worth of hospitality estate and will continue on that trajectory for 2018. While we primarily seek acquisition candidates, we are equally interested in expanding our third-party and asset advisory business.”
HREC Arranges Sale of Sheraton Hotel
HREC Investment Advisors has arranged the sale of the 276-guestroom Sheraton Edison Hotel Raritan Center, located in Edison, NJ.
HREC Investment Advisors represented the seller during the transaction. The sale was negotiated by Kevin Hanley, HREC’s SVP in the Washington, DC office; Ketan Patel, managing director in the Washington, DC office; Mark von Dwingelo, SVP in the Bethel, CT office; and Bill Schoenenberger, an affiliate broker in New Jersey.
“Completing the sale of the Sheraton Edison reflected the broad outreach and collaboration of HREC’s East Coast team,” said Hanley. “With solid understanding of the local and regional hotel markets and relationships with hotel investors across the globe, HREC was effective in bringing a buyer and seller together.”