News for the Hospitality Executive |
ATLANTA,
November 29, 2011—Officials at Hunter Realty
today announced that the firm has brokered the sale of the Hotel Indigo
in the
heart of downtown Nashville, Tenn. The hotel was marketed as part
of an
urban, two-building, mixed-use high-rise that also includes retail,
office space
and private apartments. A private investment group, TN Nashville
LLC,
acquired the historic former bank office complex for $14.4
million.
Teague Hunter, president, and Brown Kessler, executive vice president,
brokered
the transaction.
“This was an
extremely complex
transaction, with lots of
moving parts that had to come together,” Hunter said. “First, the
property was in bankruptcy, and Hunter Realty was brought in by the
trustee
because of Brown’s in-depth experience with IHG brands and Hunter
Realty’s
record of success with both troubled and cash-flowing hotels.
We’ve
worked with many lenders and all of the special servicers on distressed
hotels
over the past four years. “Second, the property was a mixed-used,
urban
re-development of two bank buildings. In addition to the 97-room
Hotel
Indigo, the classic two-building complex included 18 luxury apartments
on the
top three floors and 44,000 square feet of office space, as well as a
leased
Starbucks on the ground floor,” he said. “The complexity of the
property
translated into several issues for which we were able to provide
in-depth
counsel, ranging from office space encumbered by a below-market lease
to lack
of hotel-owned parking. Third, the hotel had been operating under
IHG’s
Hotel Indigo brand for less than a year and was still ramping up, so
the
project was sold on upside potential. “One of the major advantages we brought
to the table,
literally, was a seasoned former IHG executive, Brown Kessler, who
joined our
firm a year ago after serving for 16 years as IHG vice president of
franchise
development. Brown was directly responsible for overseeing the
development of six of IHG’s hotel brands, including Hotel Indigo,
Crowne Plaza,
Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood
Suites. His intimate knowledge of the company and its brands, as
well as
his strong relationship with the many franchisees were invaluable to
the
process.” Hunter pointed out that those kinds of
personal
connections enabled the firm to target its marketing and market the
complex
more widely, which generated strong interest from many qualified
buyers.
In the end, the firm received 11 competitive offers. “The trustee
achieved its pricing goals, and the buyer sees tremendous upside
potential with
total ramp up. The key was Brown’s first-hand knowledge of
IHG-branded
hotels and the qualified potential buyers he was able to bring to the
deal.” Hunter explained that over the years, the
firm has
developed strong relationships with the major hotel brands. “We
are in
regular contact with all of the brands, including IHG, as well as the
owners
and franchisees. IHG-branded hotels have held up well in a
challenging
economy and have distinguished themselves in the recovery. In
this
particular case, the Hotel Indigo brand was a major plus and enabled us
to
achieve an attractive price.” Located at 301 Union Street in the heart
of downtown
Nashville, the two adjacent former bank office buildings, 14 and 15
stories
high, built in 1909 and 1926, are minutes from the State Capitol,
County
Courthouse, Ryman Auditorium and Printer’s Alley and major
businesses. Hunter Realty, an award-winning firm founded in 1978, has offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. Hunter’s exclusive focus is on hotel investment advisory services. Additional information, including current listings, is available at the company’s website, www.HunterHotels.net, or by contacting the Atlanta office at 770-916-0300. |
Contact: Jerry Daly or Carol McCune (media) (703) 435-6293 |