April 19, 2011 - A seasoned development partnership with a strong record of success in downtown Los Angeles today announced an agreement with Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) to develop a new 377-room hotel tower adjacent to L.A. LIVE. The 22-story high-rise will house two Marriott International hotel brands: Courtyard by Marriott® and Residence Inn by Marriott®. It will be built at the Northwest corner of Olympic Boulevard and Francisco Street, on an entitled site the developers have agreed to purchase from AEG. Equity funding will be provided through the EB-5 Investor Green Card Program.

The partnership is led by Williams/Dame and Associates, the firm behind the city’s innovative “South Park” residential towers (EVO, Luma, and Elleven); American Life, Inc., a Seattle investment firm that specializes in EB-5 equity funding, along with Regional Center Management Los Angeles, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved EB-5 Regional Center for Los Angeles and Hollywood; and commercial real estate firm Nomad Ventures LLC.

“We are pleased to join with Marriott International, American Life, Inc., Regional Center Management Los Angeles, and Nomad Ventures LLC in this important hospitality development that will create new jobs and vitality in downtown Los Angeles,” said Homer Williams of Williams/Dame & Associates. “It is clear to us that AEG’s leadership in creating L.A. LIVE continues to be a catalyst for economic activity in this neighborhood. We hope, and fully expect, that there will other investors with new projects right behind us.”

The new hotel project will encompass 377 hotel rooms and be managed by Marriott International. It will be convenient and well-situated for convention and event visitors to L.A. LIVE as well as those doing business in the downtown area. Construction on the 300,000 square-foot building is expected to begin in March 2012, with the grand opening slated for March 2014.

Courtyard by Marriott® hotels are ideal for the technology savvy business traveler.  The 180 guest rooms at the Courtyard by Marriott will be designed to provide comfort and functionality, allowing business travelers the ability to both work and relax.  The brand’s contemporary, open and stylish lobbies are bright and welcoming with areas for guests to check e-mail, gather with colleagues or simply unwind over a night cap.

As a leader in extended-stay, Residence Inn by Marriott®   allows guests to thrive while on long stays, with spacious suites equipped with full kitchens and separate living and sleeping areas.  Guests of the 197-room hotel will receive personalized service to make them feel welcomed and appreciated. Connectivity to home and office, health and fitness options, comfortable public areas indoors and outdoors allow travelers to maintain balance while on the road.

The new hotels will serve the vibrant and growing destination known as "L.A.LIVE," a world-class sports and entertainment district that includes major attractions such as: the STAPLES Center (home of the Los Angeles. Lakers,  Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Kings), the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, the GRAMMY Museum, the Los Angeles Convention Center, and numerous residential condominiums, the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live Stadium 14 theatres, restaurants and night clubs. L.A.LIVE opened in October of 2007 and continues to spur investment in nearby residential, retail, office and hotel projects.  

The new Courtyard by Marriott® and Residence Inn by Marriott® will be directly across the street from and will rely on the adjacent amenities available at the award-winning JW Marriott Los Angeles, L.A. LIVE and The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles, hotels. These amenities include meeting and banquet areas and the Ritz-Carlton Spa, as well as cafe and dining options within the hotels and L.A. LIVE.

What Local Leaders Are Saying
"Today’s announcement of two new Marriot International hotels represents another crucial milestone in Los Angeles’ thriving downtown renaissance,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. This project will create countless local construction and permanent jobs and will expand Los Angeles’ infrastructure to support large-scale conventions that generate significant revenue for the City."

"I am truly excited that Courtyard by Marriott® and Residence Inn by Marriott® are locating in downtown Los Angeles,” said Jan Perry, Los Angeles City Council Member from the 9th District. “The construction and operation of these hotels will create thousands of new jobs that will directly benefit City of Los Angeles residents.  I am confident that the hotels will be well-designed and embrace the highest building standards as Williams/Dame and Associates has a proven track record of producing high-quality projects."

"This project demonstrates exactly the job creation of a catalytic project like the proposed Downtown Event Center and expansion of the Convention Center," said First Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner. "Many good paying jobs will be created by these hotels before the first football is thrown."

“This is one of the most important announcements in the continuing revitalization of downtown Los Angeles and the Convention Center District,” said Timothy J. Leiweke, president and CEO, AEG.  “From AEG’s standpoint, the highest priority for Los Angeles has to be creating more hotels in and around our Convention Center.  If we can fix our Convention Center and, in turn, find other hotels like this, we can singlehandedly put tens of thousands of people back to work and change the dynamics of our city forever.”

Mr. Lieweke continued: “We have been dealing with Homer Williams and his partners for much of the last ten years and they continue to be as good a team of developers and we have seen.  They are clearly the team that understands this market and the job that needs to done.  We fully support them and will use our best efforts to make this goal a reality.”

“I believe there is no place in Los Angeles with as much excitement and energy as L.A. LIVE and we are thrilled to be a part of the expansion of this vision with these two new hotels,” said Tony Capuano, executive vice president development, Marriott International, Inc. “The Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn will offer travelers more choice when visiting Los Angeles.”

“The addition of these new hotels will help meet growing demand from those attending meetings and conventions at the Los Angeles Convention Center and the Downtown area,” said Mark S. Liberman, president and CEO of LA INC, the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.  “We look forward to working with these new properties to enhance an already burgeoning area near the Los Angeles Convention Center and L.A. LIVE.”

"This announcement coupled with the announcement of a potential NFL stadium and modernization of the Los Angeles Convention Center has already created great new interest in downtown from a variety of investors in the hotel and hospitality industries,” said Carol Schatz, president and CEO of the Central City Association and Downtown Center Business Improvement District. “It is the ancillary development that Farmers Field will bring that will create a thriving LA economy and thousands of new jobs."

The Development Team
About American Life, Inc. (www.amlife.us)
Co-founded by Henry Liebman (CEO) and Ray Klein (Vice President), American Life, Inc. is a fully integrated company that finances, develops and manages properties across key markets in the United States. The firm’s debt-free investment strategy provides current income and long-term capital growth to domestic and international EB-5 investors. In addition to real estate development, American Life has assisted numerous international investors in receiving lawful permanent U.S. residence through mortgage-free real estate investments or loans secured by real estate since 1996. The firm’s immigration-linked investment opportunities allow foreign nationals to invest in the U.S. and receive Green Cards through the EB-5 visa program, created by the Immigration Act of 1990.

About Regional Center Management Los Angeles, LLC (RCMLA)
RCMLA received designation as a Regional Center under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program on October 30, 2008 from US Citizenship and Immigration Services.  According to immigration attorney Mark Ivener, one of RCMLA’s founders, “the Regional Center will pursue a diversified portfolio of real estate investment and development that will result in direct and indirect job creation including hospitality.”

About Wiliams/Dame & Associates (www.wddcorp.com)
Williams/Dame & Associates is a Portland-based real estate development firm led by Homer Williams and Dike Dame.  The firm has an organic approach to urban transformation, collaborating with public and private partners to create unique neighborhoods that blend quality housing, vibrant street first life and new business opportunities.  The firm has led the redevelopment of the “South” neighborhood, a new high-rise community in South Park in downtown Los Angeles, as well as the Pearl and South Waterfront Districts in Portland, Oregon.

About Nomad Ventures LLC (www.nomadre.com)
Nomad Ventures LLC, founded by B. Scott Fuller, delivers a team of professionals who together offer decades of real estate experience negotiating complex real estate transactions, assembling ventures, and developing commercial properties. Nomad Ventures LLC coordinates and provides equity infusions to capitalize properties and ownerships now often neglected by more traditional real estate capital sources. The firm works from offices in Los Angeles, CA, Seattle and Vancouver, WA, Portland and Ashland, OR, and Sun Valley, Idaho.

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