NEW ORLEANS—NewcrestImage has acquired the Cotton Exchange Hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans as part of its continued expansion plans.
The 223-room hotel is a National Historic Landmark located one block from Bourbon Street. NewcrestImage purchased the property out of foreclosure through a sealed bid process for $17.8 million.
The property features 2,500 sq. ft. of meeting space, as well as a ballroom with 12-ft. ceilings and a rootop pool and French impressionist paintings inspired by Edward Degas. The painter had visited the property in 1873, when he painted a picture of the cotton exchange.
The New Orleans Cotton Exchange was open from 1871 to 1964 and had undergone several renovations.
Mehul Patel, Chairman and CEO of NewcrestImage, explains, “We have long considered New Orleans—which has a thriving economy and last year attracted more than nine million business and leisure visitors—as being important to our growth strategy and this acquisition enables us to enter that market in an absolutely unique way.”
The company’s plans for the property including rebranding it to an upscale franchise brand.