April 17–ALBANY — The Hilton Albany hotel, which undertook $16 million in improvements in a major upgrade two years ago, has new owners who are planning $3.5 million in further improvements.
United Capital Corp. of Great Neck, L.I., last month paid $27.3 million for the 35-year-old, 17-story building at State and Lodge streets.
Hotel General Manager John D’Adamo said the latest improvements will involve everything from the hotel’s heating and air conditioning systems to new kitchen equipment, improvements in both the public areas and employee facilities, and some work both on the building’s exterior and the connected parking garage.
United Capital bought the hotel from a subsidiary of Lone Star Real Estate Fund, a Texas-based investment firm, which had undertaken the earlier improvements after reaching a 30-year agreement that would cut taxes by $14.3 million over the period.
The 385-room, 17-story hotel first opened in 1980 as the Albany Hilton.
It later became an Omni and then a Crowne Plaza, before returning as a Hilton under the Texas owners.
United Capital Corp. owns and operates seven other hotels in New York, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire and New Jersey under franchise pacts with DoubleTree by Hilton and Radisson, according to its web site.
The hotels include about 1,700 rooms, more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space, and a newly renovated convention center with about 170,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space.
The upgrades to the Albany hotel will come as a new convention center is under construction nearby on Eagle Street.
D’Adamo said that renovations likely will begin in the next quarter and be completed by the end of December.
