Oct. 03, 2012--The Sheraton Raleigh Hotel in downtown has been sold to an investment group that includes Oaktree Capital Management and affiliates of the Northview Hotel Group.

The purchase price was $20.236 million, according to Wake County property records.

The seller was the Gencom Group of Miami, which bought the 353-room hotel for $22 million in September 2006. The hotel, at 421 S. Salisbury Street, includes a restaurant with outdoor seating on Fayetteville Street.

NVHG Management, the management arm of Connecticut-based Northview, will operate the hotel. The new owners plan to upgrade the lobby, meeting space, guest rooms and other amenities, according to a release announcing the deal.

"The continued development of Raleigh as a business and tourist destination makes us optimistic for the future," said John Brady, global head of real estate for Oaktree, in a statement. "We are looking forward to being part of the renaissance in downtown Raleigh."

The Sheraton, build in 1981, is the second downtown hotel to get new owners in recent weeks, and the deal is yet another sign of how attractive Raleigh has become to real estate investors.

Miami-based Sound Hospitality Management acquired the 202-room Clarion Hotel on Hillsborough Street last month for $9.35 million. Sound plans to spend millions improving the property in the next nine to 12 months.

And last week Connecticut-based Wheelock Street Capital acquired two Triangle hotels, including the Homewood Suites behind Crabtree Valley Mall, for $24.4 million.

Bracken: 919-829-4548

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