NATIONAL REPORT— FFC Hospitality, Pittsburgh-based owner of hotels and other real estate, has sold the 357-room Hilton Garden Inn Chicago Downtown and the 216-room Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Providence (RI) to Bethesda-based RLJ Development in a transaction valued at approximately $80 million. Insignia/ESG Hotel Partners exclusively represented FFC Hospitality in this sale, with Chicago-based Senior Managing Director Ron Danko and Director Adam McGaughy, overseeing the marketing and disposition of the assets. Both properties are reported to be recent additions to their respective markets, with the Hilton Garden Inn Chicago Downtown opening in September 2001 and the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Providence opening in August 2000. The transaction was described as the culmination of a confidential long-term strategic plan advised by Insignia/ESG Hotel Partners. In addition to these two sales, it was noted Insignia/ESG Hotel Partners has exclusively represented FFC in the sale of five other hotels over the past four years. White Lodging Services Corp. will manage the Hilton Garden Inn for RLJ Development, while Interstate Hotels and Resorts— current manager of the Courtyard location— will continue to manage that hotel.