CHICAGO— One of Chicagos largest and best-known hotels, the Marriott on North Michigan Avenue, is being put on the selling block by a joint venture that includes an investment firm headed by former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci. Bids for the prominent 1,192-room property at 540 N. Michigan Ave. could reach a lofty $230 million, or more than $190,000 per room, sources close to the joint venture told the Chicago Tribune. The Magnificent Mile hotel was redeveloped with a new facade of chrome and green glass in 1998, as the first step in the Nordstrom-anchored North Bridge development. Carlucci is co-founder and chairman of Carlyle Group, which formed a joint venture with Bethesda, MD-based LaSalle Hotel Properties to acquire the hotel in January 2000, paying $175 million. Carlyle has a 90.1% stake in the venture. The hotel is managed by Marriott International under a long-term contract. Hodges Ward Elliott, an Atlanta-based boutique specializing in hotel sales, has been retained to market the property, confirmed Mark Schoenfeld, managing director with Washington, D.C.- based Carlyle. The hotel was acquired with a $120 million mortgage, or 69% of the $175 million purchase price. This year, the joint venture refinanced that mortgage with a short-term loan, but did not increase the debt. The hotels value was enhanced by the completion in late 2000 of the North Bridge development, which includes high-end hotels and retail shops. SOURCE: Chicago Tribune
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