Oct. 09–A downtown Springfield hotel was on the verge of foreclosure about a decade ago but has since seen a turnaround in business and was sold this week for $6.5 million to a Florida-based hospitality group.

Waramaug LS Hotels purchased the 120-room Courtyard by Marriott, 100 S. Fountain Ave., from the Turner Foundation.

The hotel was known as the Springfield Inn as recently as 2002 and was on the verge of bankruptcy, said Daren Cotter, chief financial officer for the foundation. Cotter described it as a success story and said the hotel will continue to provide a needed service downtown for the foreseeable future.

"Over the years with lots of time and effort and investment, it really became a strong performing hotel," Cotter said. "The whole idea for the foundation was we needed a nice property in downtown Springfield as a meeting place and for business travel as part of the whole downtown revitalization effort."

Waramaug, based in Boca Raton, Fla., is a privately held investment firm with more than 30 hotels across the U.S. It also owns hotels in Dublin, Ohio; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Williamsburg, Va.

The company specializes in buying mid-level hotels that receive revenue from several sources, said Paul Stern, a principal at Waramaug. The Springfield hotel was a good fit because it's in a downtown market that can draw both business and leisure travelers, he said, and already has a steady business in place.

"This particular one doesn't really need a lot of renovation," Stern said. "We think there's a little bit of operational upside."

Interstate Hotels and Resorts, a hotel management firm, will oversee the daily operations in Springfield. The Courtyard was already listed on Interstate's website Thursday.

Turner Foundation oversaw a major renovation of the property. But it never intended to hang onto the hotel indefinitely, Cotter said. He began researching a potential sale of the property a year ago and was told it was a good opportunity to sell as demand for hotel space is rising.

"Once the hotel got to a level where it was sustainable and performing well, we decided it was mission accomplished and perhaps we could look at selling the property now and recovering that capital to give us dollars to use for other initiatives," Cotter said.

Waramaug's interest in the hotel will also signal to other firms in that industry that Springfield is a viable market, said Chris Schutte, director of marketing for the Chamber of Greater Springfield. A new Holiday Inn Express also recently opened near Leffel Lane, he said, and area hotel occupancy rates have risen 9 percent since last year.

The Courtyard is one of downtown Springfield's key assets, Schutte said, along with the Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center and the Clark State Performing Arts Center.

"That was a huge turning point for downtown," Schutte said of the foundation's restoration of the hotel. "Without the Turner Foundation that absolutely never would have happened."

The Courtyard by Marriott brand was part of the hotel's appeal, Stern said. He described Springfield's hotel as an above average location for the chain. Few major changes are expected, he said.

"A management team will get in there and assess it," Stern said. "These hotels typically run pretty efficiently so I imagine we'll keep the operation in many respects as it is now."

Waramaug has a good reputation within the industry, Cotter said, which was important to the foundation. The hotel is currently undergoing an expansion to add an outdoor patio, and part of the deal required the new owner to ensure that project is completed.

"From strictly a financial investment perspective, it would not have been a great investment," Cotter said. "But we felt it was a huge success because it fit the mission of the foundation and brought a quality asset and meeting place to downtown Springfield."