August 18, 2010 --A real estate investment firm that owns two prominent local hotels is considering filing for bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Highland Hospitality Corp., which near the beginning of 2004 purchased the Portsmouth Renaissance Hotel and the Hilton Garden Inn at Virginia Beach's Town Center, failed earlier this month to repay a loan of $868 million, the Journal reported.

That has pushed the McLean-based firm to explore bankruptcy to prevent its creditors from foreclosing on any of its 27 hotels. The recession and waning hotel revenues have led to financial woes for the real estate investment firm, according to the article.

Portsmouth used bonds to help finance the Renaissance hotel, which opened in early 2001. The Renaissance and Hilton hotels were purchased as part of a $70.7 million deal that also included a Texas hotel.

Josh Brown, (757) 446-2318, [email protected]

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