Feb. 21, 2008 - The Regency Hotel in Greeley has a new owner and will soon have a new name, followed by what the new owners hope will be a better image in downtown Greeley.

"The deal was consummated today," said Stan Snow, who had been managing the property since 2006.

The new owners, Tarun and Anil Patel of Penta Hospitality out of San Jose, Calif., took over the downtown Greeley hotel at 701 8th St. Wednesday afternoon in what would be their second venture into Colorado. Penta's Web site notes that the Patels also are working on another hotel deal in Denver.

The new name will be Clarion Hotel and Conference Center.

The Greeley hotel's new general manager, Scott Holm, who helped turn around the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park from 2006-07, said the first order of business is to get the hotel making money.

"Certainly, the hotel hasn't been a viable entity to the community for some time and first and foremost is to turn it back into a viable entity," Holm said. "We certainly want to be part of the community."

That could mean some partnerships with the University of Northern Colorado, in terms of sponsorships for its sports teams, but nothing is set, Holm said.

Holm estimated the new owners would likely put in about $1.5 million into the property in renovations, inside and out.

"I can tell you we plan to renovate the entire hotel by spring," Holm said, adding that all rooms will be remodeled, as well. "The restaurant will be opened as quickly as we can, and everything will be managed in-house."

Art Cormier, who bought the property from a South Dakota chain for $4.5 million in 2001, made the deal for an undisclosed amount of money. The sale has yet to be recorded in the Weld Clerk and Recorder's Office. In 2003, he signed a three-year contract with P&S Hotels operated by Paul Patel out of Georgia, and no relation to the new owners. That deal fell through, and Cormier had to take the hotel back by force in 2006.

Snow said while Cormier wouldn't comment about the sale, he was thrilled.

"From my owner's point of view, it's great. He's been trying to sell it for seven years," Snow said.

Holm, who returns to Greeley where his grandparents immigrated from Sweden as sharecroppers in 1910, said he and the new owners plan to return the Regency back to its earlier roots, as a convention center.

"I think it has a tremendously large amount of potential," Holm said. "It's the only full-service hotel with a convention center in Greeley, and there's a pretty good market for that. And that market is here."

Holm said room prices will stay comparable with other hotels in the area, and they will be adding more staff members.

According to its Web site, Penta Hospitality was incorporated in January 2007 and is the result of a merging of Tuscany Investments, CVC Investments and Pacific Hospitality. The principals -- Mukesh J. Mowji, Tarun Patel and Anil Patel -- have worked in the lodging, hospitality and real estate business for more than 20 years.

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