37 Legendary Historic Hotels Inducted into Historic Hotels of America

 

Lawrence Horwitz

WASHINGTON, DC – Jan. 9, 2017, Historic Hotels of America® has inducted 37 historic hotels into membership in 2016.

The oldest historic hotel inducted dates to 1789. Hotels nominated and accepted into the prestigious National Trust for Historic Preservation Historic Hotels of America program in 2016 range in age from 227 years to 51 years old.

 These newly inducted historic hotels represent 19 states and include Hotel Captain Cook, the first member hotel in the state of Alaska. Nine of the 37 historic hotels are listed in the National Register of Historic Places (see NRHP below). 

Historic Hotels of America welcomed these new members in 2016:

·         The Georges (1789) Lexington, Virginia (AR)

·         Woodstock Inn & Resort (1793) Woodstock, Vermont

·         The Bedford Village Inn (1810) Bedford, New Hampshire (AR)

·         Historic Hotels of Lake Geneva (1856) Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (AR)

·         Plaza Hotel 1882 (1882) Las Vegas, New Mexico

·         Montvale Hotel (1899) Spokane, Washington (NRHP)

·         The DeSoto (1890; 1968) Savannah, Georgia

·         AKA Times Square (1893) New York, New York (NRHP)

Veronica Lake

·         Ames Boston Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton (1893) Boston, Massachusetts (AR,NRHP)

·         White Stallion Ranch (1900) Tucson, Arizona

·         Pioneer Inn (1901) Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

·         The Redbury New York (1903) New York, New York

·         XV Beacon (1903) Boston, Massachusetts (NRHP)

·         AKA Wall Street (1907) New York, New York  (AR)

·         AKA Rittenhouse Square (1912) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (AR)

·         Claremont Club & Spa, A Fairmont Hotel (1915) Berkeley, California

·         Hotel Congress (1918) Tucson, Arizona (NRHP)

·         Marriott Syracuse Downtown (1924) Syracuse, New York (NRHP)

·         The Scarlet Huntington (1924) San Francisco, California

·         La Valencia Hotel (1926) La Jolla, California

·         dusitD2 Hotel Constance Pasadena (1926) Pasadena, California

·         The Hollywood Roosevelt (1927) Los Angeles, California

·         NOPSI Hotel New Orleans, a Salamander Hotel (1927) New Orleans, Louisiana (AR)

·         Hotel Durant- Berkeley (1928) Berkeley, California

·         The Renwick Hotel New York City, Curio Collection by Hilton (1928) New York, New York  (AR)

·         AKA Sutton Place (1929) New York, New York

·         Silver Birches Resort (1929) Hawley, Pennsylvania

·         Hotel Warner (1930) West Chester, Pennsylvania (AR, NRHP)

·         Hotel Phillips Kansas City, Curio Collection by Hilton (1931) Kansas City, Missouri (NRHP)

·         The Lodge at Wakulla Springs (1937) Crawfordville, Florida (NRHP)

·         The Raleigh Miami Beach (1940) Miami Beach, Florida

 ·         The Campbell House Lexington, Curio Collection by Hilton (1949) Lexington, Kentucky

·         Morris Inn (1952) Notre Dame, Indiana

·         Hotel Valley Ho (1956) Scottsdale, Arizona

·         The Dewberry (1964) Charleston, South Carolina (AR)

·         Hotel Captain Cook (1964) Anchorage, Alaska

·         Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection (1965) Kohala Coast, Hawaii

Frank Sinatra

 Ten of the historic hotels are adaptive reuse (AR) projects that have involved converting some or all of a historic building to a hotel. Originally, these buildings were built for another purpose in their history.

 Examples include buildings originally built as a historic theatre, a military barracks, U.S. post office, office buildings, private homes, farmhouse, and residential buildings.

Several of these historic hotels have ties to famous guests, and have been featured in television and film. The Pioneer Inn has been the background for a number of films and television shows, such as The Devil at 4 O’Clock, a movie starring Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra, as well as the TV series Hawaii 5-0, Hawaiian Eye, Adventures in Paradise, and Baywatch.

Spencer Tracy

The White Stallion Ranch can be seen in over 25 films and television shows dating back to 1939 when William Holden shot Arizona on the site of the ranch.

 Famed Hollywood star Veronica Lake lived and worked as a barmaid at The Redbury New York during a slower point in her career. Several films have either been inspired by or filmed at The Bedford Village Inn, including In Your Eyes starring Jennifer Grey.

“Each of these historic hotels has contributed to our nation’s history,” said Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Director, Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide.

“One was built as the first hotel in New York City to provide both short term and long term lodging for professional women. Another was the site of the first Academy Awards ceremony held in Hollywood on May 16, 1929.

John Steinbeck

Another was once the NYC residence to John Steinbeck, Thomas Mann and other celebrated writers and artists. One was built and is still home to the world’s longest known marble bar, at 70 feet 3 inches. Each is unique and has a history worth exploring and experiencing. We are delighted to recognize these wonderful historic hotels.” 

Historic Hotels of America is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating the finest Historic Hotels.

Historic Hotels of America has more than 295 historic hotels that have all faithfully maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity in the United States of America, including 46 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Thomas Mann

 Historic Hotels of America is comprised of mostly independently owned and operated properties. More than 30 of the world’s finest hospitality brands, chains, and collections are represented in Historic Hotels of America.

To be nominated and selected for membership into this prestigious program, a hotel must be at least 50 years old; has been designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark or listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; and recognized as having historic significance.

Click here to see a video on how to leverage your historic hotel. 

To view the Historic Hotels of America 2016 Annual Directory visit www.HistoricHotels.org/Directory.

(NRHP) Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

(AR) Adaptive Reuse converted hotel originally built for another purpose

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Heather Taylor

Historic Hotels of America    

Manager, Marketing Communications

Tel: +1 202 772 8333 Fax: +1 202 772 8338

htaylor@historichotels.org

www.HistoricHotels.org.

Stepp Commercial Completes $9.7 Million Sale of 44-Unit Ocean Plaza Apartments in Long Beach, CA

Ocean Plaza Apartments, 633 East 1st Street, Downtown Long Beach, CA

LONG BEACH, CA, Jan. 9, 2017 – Stepp Commercial, a leading multifamily brokerage firm in the Long Beach market, has completed the $9.7 million sale of Ocean Plaza, a 44-unit apartment property within the East Village Arts District of Downtown Long Beach.

Robert Stepp

Robert Stepp, principal of Stepp Commercial, represented the seller, Santa Monica-based Joda Investments, as well as the Westchester, Calif.-based private buyer. The property closed at a 4.2 percent cap rate and a price per unit of $220,455.

Built in 1956 and located at 633 E. 1st Street on just over one-half acre, the property consists of three, two-story buildings with a pool in its center courtyard and offers 18 one-bedroom units and 26 studio units. The property recently underwent light renovations, including remodeled kitchens.

“This is a sizable property for the neighborhood that offered room for the buyer to add value through future renovations and bringing rents to market rates,” said Stepp.

Ocean Plaza Apartments is just one block from Ocean Blvd, within the East Village Arts District, one of the hottest areas of Downtown Long Beach. This area is undergoing a growing demand for housing as it provides an eclectic mix of retail, dining, entertainment, and art.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Darcie Giacchetto

949.278.6224

www.steppcommercial.com

 

George Smith Partners Secures $73M for Creative Office Conversion at Seattle Design Center

Rendering of Seattle Design Center, Seattle, WA

 Seattle, WA (Jan. 9, 2017) - Leading investment banking firm George Smith Partners has secured a $73 million non-recourse bridge loan for the conversion, renovation and stabilization of the Seattle Design Center on behalf of Greenbridge Investment Partners, a full-service commercial real estate firm.  The financing was arranged by George Smith Partners Principal Steve Bram.

Steve Bram

“Seattle’s creative office market is flourishing, and shows no signs of slowing in the near future,” says Bram.  “Vacancy rates have reached pre-recession lows, and tech giants such as Amazon and Facebook are expanding in the market.  This activity fuels a deeper demand for creative office, and presents an opportunity for owners who are in a position to deliver creative space to the market.”

The design center, comprised of two buildings situated in the Georgetown submarket of Seattle, historically served as a well-known destination for high-end home furnishings and design services.  Since acquiring the property in 2014, Greenbridge Investment Partners rebranded the buildings into:

Building 1: a 157,000 square-foot asset now called Seattle Design Center

Building 2: a 280,000 square-foot asset now called Georgetown Squared (G2)

“While our client had purchased the two adjacent design center buildings for $24.9 million at 43-percent overall occupancy, over the last two years, Greenbridge renovated the Seattle Design Center building and consolidated the showroom/design tenants into that facility,” explains Bram.  “Now, Greenbridge is ready to begin a major repositioning of the G2 building from showroom space into creative office.”

Bram notes that the challenge in this transaction was identifying a lender that could refinance the existing loan to support this major conversion.

“There were two key obstacles to overcome,” he says.  “First, the existing lender was unable to increase the size of the lending facility.  Second, the sponsor had greatly increased the scope of the renovation plan in order to meet the need for high-end creative office. By demonstrating the shortage of creative office product in the market, as well as the strong demand for this product type, the George Smith Partners team identified a lender who recognized the value in the project and funded the loan.”

Sean Hashem

The $73 million non-recourse bridge loan closed at 59.7-percent loan-to-stabilized value at a competitive LIBOR spread for a 24-month term with one 12-month option. 

$49 million was funded at closing, and an additional $24 million will pay for renovation, construction, tenant improvements and leasing commissions at the G2 building.

Sean Hashem, Principal of Greenbridge Investment Partners explains, “This is a major success story for our firm.  We recognized that demand was not sufficient to operate both buildings as a home furnishing and design center, and we understood the need for creative office space in the marketplace.

“By implementing our re-tenanting and repositioning strategy, we have brought the Seattle Design Center building to 86-percent occupancy, and our G2 building is already 45-percent pre-leased to strong tenants.”

Greenbridge’s G2 office building will offer a full creative environment with expansive 60,000 square-foot floorplates, exposed ceilings and concrete floors, glass walls for natural light, unobstructed views of downtown Seattle and Mt. Rainier, and full-service amenities, including an upscale fitness center and conference center.

The property is located at 5601 & 5701 Sixth Avenue in Seattle, Washington, in close proximity to major traffic routes.  More information on G2 is available at www.georgetownsquared.com.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Miki Conant / Jenn Quader

Brower, Miller & Cole

(949) 955-7940

mconant@browermillercole.com

 www.browermillercole.com

www.GSPartners.com

www.greenbridgemgmt.com

Bull Realty Debuts Atlanta Places TV

 

April Phelan

ATLANTA, GA — Bull Realty is the presenting sponsor of a brand new lifestyle show, Atlanta Places TV. 

The show is produced by AKB Media Partners and is set to debut on January 8th, 2017.

Atlanta Places TV is a video and companion radio show about the best places around metro Atlanta to live, work, dine, shop and play. 

The show about what’s going on around us, the places, the people and the experience.

The show hosts are April Phelan, an Atlanta-based actress and host, and Michael Bull, host of The Commercial Real Estate Show and CEO of Bull Realty.

These shows are shot on-site providing a great audience experience. For example, in one show, host April Phelan interviews residents at Avalon about what it’s like to live in a mixed-use development. In another show, Michael interviews John Buckett about the aerial atom racecar driving experience at Atlanta Motorsports Park.

The video shows will be available on-demand beginning January 8th on AtlantaPlacesTV.com and are available now on YouTube.

The companion radio show can be heard at 12:30 PM every Sunday afternoon beginning January 8th on Atlanta radio station, AM 920 The Answer, as well as on-demand on iTunes.

Michael Bull

“Some people in Atlanta tend to get into a routine doing the same things and going to the same restaurants, maybe partly because of traffic and lack of convenient transit options. This show helps viewers determine if ‘places’ are worth the drive,” said host Michael Bull.

The show’s producer is James Koontz. Koontz’s previous project as producer of The Commercial Real Estate Show (www.CREShow.com) was an incredible success. The show has a huge national audience as America's most heard and watched commercial real estate show in the nation.

For more information contact Michael Bull at 404-876-1640 x 101 or Michael@BullRealty.com. AKB Media Partners also produces and hosts The Commercial Real Estate Show (www.CREshow.com).

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Melissa Henry

Communications Manager

Bull Realty, Inc. 

404-876-1640 x 110

$100 million refinancing secured by HFF for Fox Valley Mall near Chicago, IL

Claudia Steeb

PITTSBURGH, PA –– Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced it has secured a $100 million refinancing for Fox Valley Mall, a 1.4-million-square-foot super regional enclosed mall in the Chicago-area suburb of Aurora, Illinois.

HFF worked on behalf of a joint venture partnership between Centennial Real Estate Company (Centennial), Montgomery Street Partners (MSP), USAA Real Estate Company (USAA RealCo) and Westfield America to place the five-year loan with one 24-month extension option with a lender group led by J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. and participant lenders Aareal Capital Corporation and CIT Bank NA. 

In 2015, HFF assisted the partnership by arranging $308.4 million in acquisition financing for three shopping malls totaling 2.3 million square feet in Connecticut, Illinois and Washington in addition to facilitating transfers under the existing debt financing on two additional malls that the partnership was purchasing: Fox Valley Mall and MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, California.

 The current financing proceeds were used to pay off the existing CMBS loan on Fox Valley Mall, which was assumed when the partnership purchased the property.

Fox Valley Mall is the only super regional mall in Aurora, one of the fastest-growing submarkets in the Chicago MSA. 

 Ninety-three percent leased, Fox Valley Mall is home to national tenants, including H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, Books-A-Million, Charming Charlie, American Eagle Outfitters, XXI Forever, Victoria’s Secret, Gap and Rue 21. 

Additionally, the mall has four anchors, Carson Pirie Scott, Macy’s, Sears and JCPenney.  Fox Valley Mall is situated on 43.016 acres at 195 Fox Valley Center Drive equidistant between two of the largest suburban downtown areas in the Chicago MSA:  Aurora and Naperville.  

Jim Curtin

The property is located along Interstate 88 approximately 35 miles from downtown Chicago.

HFF’s debt placement team was led by managing director Claudia Steeb, director Jim Curtin and real estate analyst Brandi Welsch along with managing director Timothy Joyce and associate director Christopher Knight.

 For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Olivia Hennessey

Public Relations Coordinator

HFF | 9 Greenway Plaza Suite 700 | Houston, Texas 77046

tel 713.852.3403 | fax 713.527.8725 | hfflp.com

ohennessey@hfflp.com

www.usrealco.com

www.montgomerystreetpartners.com