May 07--Southern California-based lodging real estate investment trust Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. said today it has entered into an agreement to buy the 1,053-room Boston Park Plaza Hotel for $250 million.

Sunstone disclosed the purchase in its first-quarter earnings report. The company said it expects the purchase to close during the third quarter of this year. The hotel will remain unbranded and will continue to be managed by Highgate Hotels.

The company added its immediate business plan for the hotel entails the build-out and lease-up of nearly 43,000 square feet of ground level and below-grade retail spaces, which predominantly front Arlington Street and Park Plaza.

Sunstone also plans to invest in certain upgrades to the hotel's physical infrastructure, elevators, HVAC, facade and guest systems. In the longer term, the company may "undertake a more comprehensive capital repositioning program to further enhance the hotel's competitve positioning, subject to the development of a business case supporting such a repositioning program," officials said.

___

(c)2013 the Boston Herald

Visit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services