BETHESDA, MD—RLJ Lodging Trust has acquired the 194-room Hyatt Atlanta Midtown located in Atlanta, GA, for a purchase price of $49.5 million, or approximately $255,000 per key.
The purchase price represents a forward capitalization rate of approximately 8% on the hotel’s projected 2015 net operating income, according to the company. RLJ Lodging Trust purchased the hotel with proceeds from its recent equity offering.
Originally opened in 1987 as a Wyndham, the hotel was closed by the prior owner to perform a $23-million comprehensive renovation and conversion to a compact full-service Hyatt. The hotel re-opened in July 2013. The company projects that during its first year of full ownership, the hotel’s RevPAR will be more than a 16% premium to the company’s reported 2013 RevPAR.
Local demand generators include several Fortune 500 companies, such as The Coca-Cola Company, UPS, Home Depot and Delta Air Lines, and the company expects corporate demand to increase from planned relocations and expansions by companies such as General Motors, Pulte Group and State Farm. Other nearby companies include the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Georgia Institute of Technology, Equifax, AT&T, Invesco, Norfolk Southern and PricewaterhouseCoopers. In addition, Midtown is home to eight of the 10 largest law firms in Atlanta. The hotel is also in close proximity to local tourist attractions such as the High Museum of Art, Fox Theatre and Piedmont Park.
The hotel is the only Hyatt-branded property in Midtown.
With the addition of this asset, RLJ Lodging Trust now owns 149 properties, comprised of 147 hotels with more than 23,100 rooms and two planned hotel conversions, located in 21 states and the District of Columbia.