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- Renamed Radisson Plaza Hotel Baltimore Inner Harbor - ROCP is a strategic alliance formed this past year between Olympus Real Estate Partners and Carlson Hotels Worldwide to acquire hotels for conversion and management under Carlson's Radisson and Regent International Hotel brands. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"The hotel is an excellent match for our criteria for strategic growth and investment and a flagship property for our brand," said Jay Witzel, president of Radisson Hotels & Resorts. "Baltimore is in the midst of a major renaissance with extensive public and private economic development. The hotel's premier location and first-class facilities are within walking distance to the recently expanded convention center, across the street from the new government center and many other area cultural and sporting attractions." "Our alliance with Carlson Hotels continues to move forward as we acquire key hotels in major U.S. markets that present a compelling opportunity to convert to the Radisson brand," said Clark Hanrattie, a managing director with Olympus Real Estate Partners. "The Radisson Plaza Baltimore offers ROCP significant upside potential in a vibrant city that is emerging as an East coast center for telecommunications, biotechnology, medicine and wireless technology." According to Mr. Witzel, the hotel has been placed under the stewardship of Russell "Lee" Belfield, a 20-year veteran of the hospitality industry with several major hotel brands, including Wyndham Hotels and Resorts and Doubletree Hotels, and extensive experience in restaurant management and operations. Most recently, he served as the general manager of the Radisson Hotel at Sabal Park in Tampa, Fla. ROCP unites Olympus' investment and corporate development expertise with Carlson's strength in the area of global hotel and travel industry brand building. The partnership is actively seeking additional investments in existing full-service hotel properties in the top 25-30 major domestic metropolitan markets in both city centers and primary suburbs that can be repositioned within the Radisson and Regent brands. The partnership believes that an attractive investment opportunity currently exists to acquire, refurbish and convert hotels from the mid-market hotel segment where many properties are under managed and under branded. "Radisson-Olympus Capital Partners is a fully funded partnership with debt and equity in place, and the ability to move quickly," said Stephen Miller, executive vice president-development and acquisitions for Radisson-Olympus Capital Partners. "We are interested in acquiring full-service hotels with more than 200 rooms and between 8,000 - 20,000 square feet of meeting space." The Radisson Plaza Hotel Baltimore Inner Harbor is linked to Radisson's industry-leading business delivery and reservations systems. Based in Minneapolis, Minn., Carlson Hotels Worldwide, part of Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, includes four hotel brands: Regent(R) International Hotels; Radisson Hotels & Resorts(R); Country Inns & Suites by Carlson(R), and Park Hospitality. Olympus Real Estate Partners, with offices in Dallas and New York, invests
in real estate equities, mortgages and securities in major markets throughout Contact:
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The
Lord Baltimore Hotel, designed by William L. Stoddart and built in 1928,
embodies the distinctive architectural characteristics of early 20th-century
high rise hotels, reminiscent of such famous American hotels as New
York's Vanderbilt Hotel and Chicago's Palmer House.
