News Top: February
Former Radisson Hotel Site in St. Lucie County, Florida Sold to Las Vegas Billionaire, Phil Ruffin
February 3, 2014
Feb. 03--ST. LUCIE COUNTY -- A Las Vegas billionaire has purchased the site of the former Radisson Hotel on North Hutchinson Island. On Dec. 11, Ruffin Properties LLC of Wichita, Kan., purchased the 11.78-acre beachfront property at the corner of State Road A1A and Shorewinds Drive for $6 million from Greenwood Development Corp. of Florida Inc., according to records from the St. Lucie County Property Appraiser's Office. The limited-liability company is owned by Phil Ruffin of Las Vegas, owner of Treasure Island Hotel and Casino on the Vegas Strip. Ruffin couldn't be reached for comment Monday to discuss his plans for the property. The s...
Plans Move Forward for 400-key Condo-Hotel on Former Radisson Site in St. Lucie Cty, Florida
February 4, 2014
Feb. 04--ST. LUCIE COUNTY -- Plans to build a 400-bed condo-hotel at the site of the old Radisson Hotel on North Hutchinson Island are moving forward despite a change in land ownership. In December, billionaire Phil Ruffin, the owner of Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, spent $6 million for the 11.78-acre property at the corner of State Road A1A and Shorewinds Drive, where Singer Island developer George Heaton wanted to build a condo-hotel. However, Heaton's purchase plans fell through, said real estate broker Bob Lowe, owner of Lowe's International Realty Plus, who connected Ruffin with the property. Lowe said Ruffin flew ...
Salem Waterfront Hotel, Salem MA Planning $12 million Expansion
February 4, 2014
Feb. 04--SALEM -- The owners of the Salem Waterfront Hotel have filed plans to build a second phase of the Pickering Wharf development. Plans were filed last week for a $12 million project that would include a six-story building along the South River with 32 hotel rooms, 14 residences, a ballroom and conference space, a restaurant with outdoor dining, and a locker room and showers for marina guests. An elevated glass walkway would connect the new building to the 86-room Salem Waterfront Hotel, which opened in 2004. With this addition, the hotel developers said they will be able to keep more tourism business in the city and compete with ...
Former Hotel Developer, Robert Falor, Sentenced to Six-Years for Evading $1.7 million in Taxes
February 1, 2014
Feb. 01--A former Chicago real estate developer who converted hotels in Chicago, Miami Beach and other cities into condominium-hotels has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty last year on federal tax evasion charges, prosecutors said. Robert D. Falor, 48, pleaded guilty in May to failing to pay more than $1.75 million in taxes between 2004 and 2007. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall said in a hearing today that Falor was "a one-man financial crime wave," according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office. His brother and father also were part of the scam, however, prosecutors say. Falor, who lives in C...
$30 Million Hotel, Conference Center Proposed for Old Doña Ana County Courthouse in Las Cruces, NM
February 18, 2014
Feb. 18--LAS CRUCES -- Las Cruces businessman Bob Pofahl has teamed up with the owner of the former Doña Ana County Courthouse in an effort to remake the downtown landmark into a five-star hotel, conference center and complex with restaurants and boutiques, he said. "The vision for the hotel is to create something similar to La Fonda or La Posada in Santa Fe or the Hotel Parq Central in Albuquerque, where the building's history is preserved during the redevelopment progress," said Pofahl of his plans with owner John Hoffman of El Paso. Pofahl, managing partner for Las Cruces Community Partners LLC, is no stranger to re-imagining large ...
Major Renovation, Costs Approaching $270M, Underway for 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach in Miami
February 22, 2014
Feb. 22--A little more than a year ago, owners of the former Gansevoort-turned-Perry hotel in Miami Beach announced they would turn the property into a high-end earthy new brand by pouring more than $100 million into the project. Months after closing the hotel and buying out condo owners, they're still pouring. The cost of project, set to open this fall as 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, is now approaching $500 million, including the 2012 purchase price of $230 million. "In order to put a product in the market that was commensurate with the prices, we went into a major upscale of the investment," said Richard LeFrak, president of LeFra...
$64M 220-room Westin Hotel Project Near El Paso, Texas Airport to Begin in June 2014
February 7, 2014
Feb. 07--El Paso engineer William Correa said he expects to have his dream hotel under construction by June. Correa, an El Paso native who is president and owner of Paragon Project Resources, an engineering and development firm he started in Dallas 25 years ago, is the brain behind the proposed, $64 million, 220-room, upscale Westin Hotel and 80,000-square-foot restaurant and retail project to be built on nine acres of El Paso airport-owned land on Airway Boulevard near Montana Avenue. Correa announced Thursday that Paragon's development company, EP Vida, selected Jordan Foster Construction, a large El Paso-based general contractor, to ...
ZJZ Hospitality Completes Multi-Million Dollar Renovation of Embassy Suites Corpus Christi in Texas
February 13, 2014
Feb. 13--CORPUS CHRISTI -- After forming an investment company to purchase and revamp Embassy Suites Corpus Christi with a retro-modern design, company CEO Deven Bhakta questioned his decision, he said. "I know the business, Corpus Christi and the hotel's clientele," Bhakta said. "Embassy Suites was a marquis hotel from the 1980s that was a bit neglected and tired." He didn't know much of the place was held together with duct tape, he said. "Sometimes you wonder if you're taking on something too old," Bhakta said. "But now our guests are raving, and those pains are going away." ZJZ Hospitality, the development company that acquired the ...
Construction Begins for 108-room Holiday Inn Express in Oakhurst, CA; Two Adjacent Hotels to Follow
February 6, 2014
Feb. 06--Ground work has begun on the first of three well-known chain hotels on the west side of Highway 41 between the Glass Hut and the Oakhurst Fruit Stand. The first hotel to be build is a 108-room Holiday Inn Express Inn & Suites, that is expected to be open in time for this summer's busy tourist season. Plans call for two additional hotels, a 108-room Fairfield Inn & Suites and a 108-room Hampton Inn by Marriott, to be built adjacent to the Holiday Inn Express on the same six-acre lot. The hotels are being developed by the Patel family and Paul Patel is the general contractor for the three properties. All three of the four...
Chase Hotel Group Proposing New 75-room Hotel in Millcreek Mall Area of Erie, PA
February 6, 2014
Feb. 06--A developer is finding room for a new hotel in Millcreek Township. The 75-room hotel would be built on 1.5 acres just east of Red Lobster restaurant at the Millcreek Mall. Millcreek supervisors took the first step to approve the hotel when they accepted the sewer plans for the development. The next steps will be rezoning the property to C-2, general commercial, to match the surrounding retail zoning, and the supervisors voting on a land-development plan, said Matt Waldinger, land-development coordinator for the township. The hotel -- a brand name is not yet known -- would be built on the north side of Interchange Road, though W...
Kyo-ya Hotels Owner Buys Out Cerberus Capital Mgmt, Greg Dickhens Steps Down as Kyo-ya President
February 6, 2014
Feb. 06--Kokusai Kogyo Co,, the parent of Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts LLC, bought out Cerberus Capital Management LP's controlling interest in the company in a deal that closed today in Japan, according to sources close to the deal. The transaction coincides with an announcement in Honolulu that Greg Dickhens, the president of Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts LLC, is stepping down to pursue other business interests after more than eight years with the company. Both of these announcements are of special interest to Hawaii since five of the six hotels owned by the company are in the isles and Dickhens, who represented Cerberus' interests, has ...
South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association Honors Dilip Patel as Hotelier of the Year
February 23, 2014
Feb. 23--CHESTER -- Dilip Patel, owner of the Microtel Inn and Suites by Wyndham in Rock Hill, was recently named the hotelier of the year by the S.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association. The award honors the hotel owner, manager or company that shows exemplary customer service, employee relations, community service, and their dedication to advancing the lodging industry of South Carolina. "I'm humbled by it, I don't know who nominated me," Patel said. Patel said the formation of the Lancaster, Union, Chesterfield and York (LUCY) chapter of the association was likely a factor in the award. Lodging and restaurant operators have come toget...
Donald Trump to Buy Irish Resort, Doonbeg Golf Club, Built by South Carolina’s Kiawah Partners
February 11, 2014
Feb. 11--The Donald is buying Doonbeg. New York real estate investor and TV personality Donald Trump announced today he's buying the financially ailing Irish golf resort that was developed by South Carolina's Kiawah Partners, according to numerous news reports. Kiawah Partners, which referred question to the Trump Organization today, placed the swanky, money-losing getaway in Ireland into receivership as part of plan to sell it. The firm appointed officials from the accounting firm EY to run Doonbeg Golf Club and the 39-room Lodge at Doonbeg until the eventual sale. The move comes about six months after South Street Partners bought Kiaw...
$500 M Upgrade Planned for Honolulu’s Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Not Affected by Ownership Change
February 10, 2014
Feb. 10--The parent company of Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Sheraton hotels in Waikiki, said the ownership change announced last week will have no effect on its plans for a $500 million upgrade of the Princess Kaiulani Hotel. Kokusai Kogyo Holdings Co., the parent of Kyo-ya, bought out Cerberus Capital Management LP's controlling interest in the company in a deal that closed Friday in Japan. "The transaction, completed on Friday in Japan, will have no effect on its plans to upgrade the Princess Kaiulani Hotel or its relationship with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Management Co., who manages the hotel properties in Hawaii ...
Halo Hospitality Group Targets Farragut Building, Knoxville, Tennessee for 190-Key Hotel Conversion
February 21, 2014
Feb. 21--In its heyday, the Farragut Building in downtown Knoxville played host to the likes of Merv Griffin, Babe Ruth and David Ben-Gurion. The historic Gay Street property is mostly empty now, but a California firm is hoping to resurrect it as a hotel. The city of Knoxville said Friday that representatives of Sacramento-based Halo Hospitality Group will host an open house on Monday to discuss their proposal for a 190-room hotel in the building at 530 S. Gay St. According to a development assistance application filed with the city, an entity called Farragut Group LLC has an option to buy the building. The application indicated that Fa...
The Blennerhassett Hotel Becomes First Independent Hotel in West Virginia to Join Stash Hotel Reward
Stash Hotel Rewards | February 3, 2014
Historic Hotel in Downtown Parkersburg Now Part of Nation's Largest Points-Based Rewards Program for Independent Hotels Parkersburg, WV – February 4, 2014 – The Blennerhassett Hotel, a nationally recognized historic landmark located in the heart of Parkersburg, announced today that it has partnered with Stash Hotel Rewards, the nation's largest point-based rewards program for independent hotels. As a result of this partnership, Stash members are now able to earn and redeem points at The Blennerhassett Hotel, the first independent hotel in the state of West Virginia to offer a rewards program to its guests. "Parkersburg continues to...
China Making Massive Inroads in the Bahamas with the $3.5M Baha Mar Mega-Resort
February 16, 2014
Feb. 16--NASSAU -- Cement mixers from China and construction equipment rumble next to a premier strip of white sandy beach as thousands of Chinese workers labor to complete a $3.5 billion resort project at famed Cable Beach. Bahamian officials hope that the Baha Mar project -- four new hotels, 200,000 square feet of convention space, an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course and a casino with a 50-foot glass water wall and a Vegas-style show lake -- will transform Bahamian tourism, putting it on the map as a world-class gaming destination. Baha Mar developers plan to have the mega-resort open by mid-December, just in time for the w...
“Like 9 New Hotels Coming”; New 860-key Fort Benning, Georgia Hotel Sparks Fear in Local Competition
February 17, 2014
Feb. 17--It's an 860-room hotel that is impressive in its sheer size and is situated in the heart of Fort Benning's Main Post area -- where soldiers train, work, live and play. The 450,000-square-foot property also is part of the U.S. Army's effort to privatize its on-post lodging to replace as quickly and economically as possible rooms that are showing age through decades of wear and tear. "I would like to stress that the purpose of this hotel is to take care of our soldiers and families," said Al Gelineau, Fort Benning's director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. "That's our target market, the official traveler. Our soldie...
Despite Neighborhood Skepticism, Renovation in Full Force for Old Sunset Hotel in St. Petersburg, FL
February 14, 2014
Feb. 14--ST. PETERSBURG -- Developer Mark Tong feels positive energy in this 99-year-old hotel at the city's western gateway. Many people who live nearby do not. In the past decade, this yellow, three-story remnant of the Jazz Age has changed hands several times, one renovation scheme after another failing to come together. One owner reopened it for a time as a transient lodge, attracting prostitution, drug deals and other unwelcome activities to the neighborhood of brick-lined streets behind it, residents say. Some neighbors have urged the city to find a way to bulldoze the old Sunset Hotel at 7401 Central Ave., but the 1915 building h...
Irvine, CA Marriott Completes $5M Phase One Remodel; Additional $6M for Guest Room Updates Planned
February 20, 2014
Feb. 20--The Irvine Marriott has completed a $5 million first phase of an extensive renovation. The hotel's lobby, lounge, pool and other first-floor features are done. Walls were moved and ceilings were raised to make the space feel more open, General Manager Scott McCoy said. Work started in April. The now nautical-themed first-floor spaces are sleeker and give the hotel a more modern ambience, McCoy said. "It's not swanky; it's more sophisticated." Outdoor spaces are being relandscaped, and new furniture is on the way, he said. Next up: a $2 million renovation of the hotel's meeting rooms, which should be completed by the end of summ...
Wilmington, N.C. OKs Deal with Harmony Hospitality for $33.6 Million Riverfront Embassy Suites
February 5, 2014
Feb. 05--Years after Wilmington began seeking a developer to build an upscale hotel next to the downtown convention center, the city council on Tuesday unanimously approved a deal for a $33.6 million Embassy Suites on the riverfront. The deal is significant because convention center officials have long said an attached hotel is paramount to the success of the center as it attempts to draw events and conventions. The hotel deal, which was mired in delays, also was the subject of controversy in recent months as another downtown hotelier challenged the city's sale price of the land. Speaking before the council Tuesday, City Manager Sterlin...
MDM Development’s Building a 34-story Hotel At Risk? Prehistoric Village Found in Downtown Miami
February 4, 2014
Feb. 04--Archaeologists who for months have been uncovering mounting evidence of an ancient and extensive Native American village in the middle of downtown Miami have concluded it's likely one of the most significant prehistoric sites in the United States. The archaeologists, under the direction of veteran South Florida archaeologist Bob Carr, have so far painstakingly dug up eight large circles comprised of uniformly carved holes in the native limestone that they believe to be foundation holes for Tequesta Indian dwellings dating as far back as 2,000 years. They have also discovered linear, parallel arrangements of hundreds of such pos...
Revel’s Largest Equity Holder, Chatham Asset Management, Approved as Part Owner of Casino
February 13, 2014
Feb. 13--Chatham Asset Management, the largest equity holder in Revel Casino-Hotel, was deemed qualified Wednesday for New Jersey licensing by the Casino Control Commission. The commission was required to consider Chatham's qualifications following Revel's bankruptcy proceeding last year, during which the investment company agreed to have its debt converted into equity. Chatham, which owns 28 percent of the equity in Revel, had been operating under a temporary arrangement approved by the commission in May. Wednesday morning's proceedings followed weeks of speculation over who might purchase Revel, which has been openly pursuing a sale s...
Garden Plaza Hotel in Decatur, Alabama to Rebrand as DoubleTree by Hilton Decatur Riverfront
February 10, 2014
Feb. 10--Executives of Cooper Hotels, owner of the Garden Plaza Hotel & Suites (formerly Holiday Inn & Suites) for more than 40 years, today announced the start of a multi-million dollar renovation and rebranding to convert the hotel into a DoubleTree by Hilton. The refurbished hotel, the DoubleTree by Hilton Decatur Riverfront. will feature complete renovations to the hotel's 142 guest rooms and 23 suites, and a new restaurant with a full bar and a Starbucks kiosk. With over 10,000 square feet of event space, it is the city's largest meeting, banquet and event venue. During the renovation, which is scheduled to be complete by f...
The Vendue Inn, Charleston, SC to be Reborn as The Vendue, an Art-Centric Boutique Hotel
February 20, 2014
Feb. 20--The same hospitality group that turned Folly Beach's Holiday Inn into Tides Hotel has transformed the former Vendue Inn into a boutique hotel that marries lodging with gourmet food and fine art. Avocet Hospitality Group on Wednesday gave a preview tour of the hotel that will likely wrap up construction in the Spring, according to Jon Weitz, CEO of Avocet. Weitz revealed the hotel's plans to center on local art- with nearly every inch of the hotel doubling as a gallery space. The Vendue has partnered with local artists Megan and Robert Lange of Robert Lange Studios, who will design and curate two to three art exhibits at the hot...
