Cleveland/Beachwood | October 10, 2012 - BGL Real Estate Advisors, a subsidiary of Brown Gibbons Lang & Co., and Cleveland real estate developer Scott Berkowitz today announced the groundbreaking on a new Aloft hotel (a vision of W Hotels) in Chagrin Highlands.   For the past year, Mr. Berkowitz has worked closely with Beachwood city officials to bring the four-story, 135 room hotel to the thriving city hotel market.

In January 2011, Mr. Berkowitz engaged the services of BGL Real Estate Advisors to secure both the debt and equity for the project.  The firm’s keen interest in the opportunity resulted in a partnership between Berkowitz and BGL to co-develop the project.

Michael Gibbons, Senior Managing Director and Principal at Brown Gibbons Lang & Co. said, “After hearing about the project and then seeing the location, we knew it was a special business opportunity.”

Aloft, an upscale, hip, urban inspired select service hotel, referred to as the “Style at a Steal” brand by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG).  Bold, sleek, and unique, Aloft has completely redefined the select service category by pairing a tech-savvy, design oriented product with the power of Starwood Hotels and Resorts global sales and marketing platform.

The developers have selected Midas Hospitality, LLC, a St. Louis-based operator, to manage the hotel.  “Choosing the management company to operate the hotel was the most important decision of all,” Mr. Berkowitz said.  “I interviewed quite a few quality management companies and determined it was essential to the success of the project to select a company with current Aloft hotel management experience.  Midas became the clear choice.”

Kurt Furlong, Midas EVP & Principal, Sales & Marketing, stated, “The Aloft hotel – Beachwood, Ohio will be a great upscale hotel addition to a tremendous market.”  Furlong added, “The hotel is ideally located at the doorstep to the brand new $170 million, 53-acre Eaton Corporation World Headquarters, across the street from the new, state-of-the-art, University Hospital Ahuja Medical Center and close to many other Fortune 1000 companies.”

Jeff Steck, Vice President, led the BGL Real Estate Advisors transaction team.  Jeff Wild, Partner at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff served as legal counsel.  Mann Architects and Pride One Construction served as architect and general contractor, respectively. Financing was secured through U.S. Bank.

The Aloft hotel is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2013.

About Brown Gibbons Lang & Company
Brown Gibbons Lang & Company is a leading independent investment bank serving the middle market. BGL specializes in merger & acquisition advisory services, debt & equity placements, financial restructurings, and valuations & fairness opinions, with global industry teams in metals and metals processing, industrials, healthcare, consumer, business services, and real estate. BGL has offices in Chicago, Cleveland and Salt Lake City, and Global M&A Partner offices in more than 40 countries across five continents, which allows BGL to deliver clients unparalleled access to corporations, investors, and opportunities globally. For more information, please visit www.bglco.com.

About BGL Real Estate Advisors
BGL Real Estate Advisors provides comprehensive real estate investment banking services to the middle market, which includes real estate advisory, debt and equity placements, financial restructuring, and asset acquisition and disposition. BGL’s services cover the full spectrum of asset classes, including multi-family, student housing, hospitality/leisure, office, retail, industrial, and senior and assisted living properties.

About Scott Berkowitz
Scott Berkowitz has been a principal owner of Erie Title Agency, Inc. since 1999.  From 2005 to 2010, Mr. Berkowitz worked exclusively in the very high end Resort Residential Markets at pristine locations across the United States and Mexico including California, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, Georgia, and the Riviera Maya.  He managed collective sales exceeding $200 million.  From 2010 to present, his sole focus has been to bring the Aloft hotel to market.

About Midas Hospitality, LLC
Midas Hospitality was established in 2006 and quickly became one of the premier hotel management groups in the Midwest.  Midas has developed, opened, and managed numerous properties, including Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, Aloft by Starwood, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, and Hampton Inn among others.

Midas Hospitality, LLC is an owner, operator, and developer of hotels with a growing portfolio consisting of 16 hotels in 8 states serving 6 different global brands. For more information on Midas Hospitality locations and services, please visit www.midashospitality.com.

About Aloft Hotels
Aloft Hotels is part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1112 properties in 100 countries and territories.  Starwood family of brands include: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and Element SM.  Starwood Hotels & Resorts boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG). With 60 hotels open in 10 countries and 30 in the pipeline since the Aloft brand first arrived on the scene, Aloft, a vision of W Hotels, has changed the hotel landscape offering “style at a steal” everywhere from Baltimore to Beijing to Bogota to Brussels -- and everywhere in between. For more information, please visit www.alofthotels.com.