CLEVELAND, OH, Dec. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Forest City Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) today announced that it has agreed to sell the 206-room Ritz-Carlton Cleveland hotel at Tower City Center to a subsidiary of Rock Ohio Caesars, LLC, for a total of $36.5 million, including a $2.5 million option payment by Rock pursuant to an option agreement between the two companies. The hotel will remain a Ritz-Carlton under a long-term management contract. The transaction is expected to close December 15, 2011.
"This is an excellent transaction for Forest City," said David J. LaRue (bottom right photo), Forest City president and chief executive officer. "The Ritz-Carlton is a premier brand in luxury hospitality, but the hotel is a non-core asset for Forest City. Our strategic focus is on our core office, apartment and retail property types, and in our primary core markets including New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Denver and California."
"With the property under new ownership, The Ritz-Carlton will continue to be a key amenity for Tower City Center and for the casino," LaRue added.
"As Rock completes construction of its Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, which is expected to open in March 2012 in our nearby Higbee Building, we believe our Tower City assets will benefit, as will the City of Cleveland and the State of Ohio as a result of the increased tourism, jobs and tax revenues the casino will generate."
Contact:
Robert O'Brien, Executive Vice President - Chief Financial Officer, +1-216-621-6060;
Jeff Linton, Senior Vice President - Corporate Communication, +1-216-621-6060
Web Site: http://www.forestcity.net/
No comments:
Post a Comment