NORWALK, Conn., January 24, 2006� HEI Hospitality, a rapidly growing hospitality investment and operating company, today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire in Spring 2007 the under-development Westin Minneapolis, from Ryan Companies US, Inc., developer of the project.  The hotel is being created through the conversion of the historic, former F&M Bank building into a 214-room Westin hotel.  Merritt Hospitality, a wholly owned HEI subsidiary, will operate the hotel.  

Located at the corner of 6th Street and Marquette Ave. in the center of downtown, the building is a part of Minneapolis� innovative skyway system, which connects more than 50 downtown blocks with more than five miles of glass-enclosed bridges.  Conversion of the 11-story, 150,000 square-foot building is expected to begin next month.  It will be the city�s first Westin hotel.  

The focal point of the hotel will be the 7,200-square-foot lobby with 35-foot-high clear span ceilings, which will incorporate the former bank�s classic Art Deco architecture, including a three-story grand marble staircase, chandeliers, wood paneling and brass and nickel-plated vault doors.  The lobby will feature a 100-seat upscale restaurant, including a display kitchen.  Six private dinning rooms will be created from existing bankers� offices.  The high-energy lounge also will be situated in the former bank lobby.  Both outlets are expected to be major social gathering places for people visiting the city, as well as a magnet for local residents who seek a fine dining experience in a highly charged environment.  In addition, the building will have approximately 8,000 square feet of meeting space and 7,000 square feet of retail space on the Skyway level.

�Take-out, or turn-key, acquisitions like the Minneapolis Westin, where we purchase the hotel upon completion from a quality developer like Ryan Companies, is another attractive growth vehicle for HEI,� said Steve Mendell, HEI�s executive vice president�acquisitions and development.  �We continue to aggressively seek other full-service, 200- to 500-room hotels in the top 50 MSAs and are rapidly ramping up our development activities for both full-service and premium-branded select-service brands.� 
 
�The hotel is destined to become a modern classic in the Midwest�s second largest city,� said Roger Clark, senior vice president � acquisitions & development.  �Minneapolis is a vibrant city that is home to 17 Fortune 500 headquarters, with a strong manufacturing and banking concentration, and is rapidly growing in the services, medical and technological industries.  More than 70 percent of the downtown area�s 22 million square feet of office space is concentrated within eight blocks of the property.� 

HEI Hospitality, headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., is an ownership/investment firm that owns and/or operates 26 first-class and full-service hotels throughout the United States under such well-known brand names as Marriott, Sheraton, Westin and Hilton.  Merritt Hospitality is an independent hotel management company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of HEI Hospitality.

Gary Mendell, HEI Hospitality
 (203) 849-6065