ATLANTA, July 25, 2017 — Davidson Hotels & Resorts announces the transition in ownership of the Iowa City Sheraton, a property formerly owned by RockBridge and managed by Davidson for nearly 10 years. AJ Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has acquired the property while retaining Davidson Hotels & Resorts as the management company.
The Iowa City Sheraton is conveniently located on Iowa City's Pedestrian Mall District which offers an eclectic mix of culture, arts, entertainment and dining options and only steps away from the University of Iowa, home of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The nine-story, 234-room hotel will undergo an expansive renovation in 2018, culminating with a relaunch to the Graduate Iowa City by summer 2018. Renovations will touch all aspects of the property including more than 13,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces, as a well as guestrooms, restaurants, pool and the hotel lobby. Additionally, Graduate Hotels will bring a creative, contemporary, locally driven food and beverage program with the desire to cultivate relationships among hotel guests and locals. Upon conversion to a Graduate Hotel, the property will operate under Pivot Hotels & Resorts, Davidson's lifestyle and luxury operating division.
Graduate Hotels are synonymous with creating a unique environment for travelers, aiming to create lasting memories through adventure and exploration, and are part of a well-curated, thoughtfully crafted collection of hotels. Each property exudes dynamic energy, supporting its local community, as Graduate Hotels are located in university centric cities across the country.
"AJ Capital has created one of the most exciting new concepts in lodging with Graduate Hotels. We have operated in over ten university markets ourselves, so the combination of our experiences will be highly strategic as we grow together," said John Belden, president and CEO of Davidson. "We are thrilled to become part of the AJ Capital family and look forward to presenting the Iowa City community with an exciting new chapter for the hotel."
"It is with great pleasure that we announce the acquisition of the Sheraton Iowa City," says Tim Franzen, President of Graduate Hotels. "This acquisition exemplifies our strategy of investing in ideally located assets in multi-dimensional university-anchored markets. We look forward to expanding our footprint within the Big Ten Conference with Graduate Iowa City's opening next year. We look forward to growing with Pivot Hotels & Resorts as they've quickly established themselves as one of the most creative and innovative lifestyle managers in the industry."
Davidson Hotels & Resorts, and its lifestyle and luxury operating division, Pivot Hotels & Resorts, is one of the industry's preeminent hotel operators, specializing in branded and lifestyle full-service and upscale urban select-service hotels. For more information about Davidson Hotels & Resorts and Pivot Hotels & Resorts, visit www.davidsonhotels.com or www.pivothotels.com.
