ATLANTA, November 29, 2011—Officials at Hunter Realty today announced that the firm has brokered the sale of the Hotel Indigo in the heart of downtown Nashville, Tenn.  The hotel was marketed as part of an urban, two-building, mixed-use high-rise that also includes retail, office space and private apartments.  A private investment group, TN Nashville LLC, acquired the historic former bank office complex for $14.4 million.  Teague Hunter, president, and Brown Kessler, executive vice president, brokered the transaction.

“This was an extremely complex transaction, with lots of moving parts that had to come together,” Hunter said.  “First, the property was in bankruptcy, and Hunter Realty was brought in by the trustee because of Brown’s in-depth experience with IHG brands and Hunter Realty’s record of success with both troubled and cash-flowing hotels.  We’ve worked with many lenders and all of the special servicers on distressed hotels over the past four years. 

“Second, the property was a mixed-used, urban re-development of two bank buildings.  In addition to the 97-room Hotel Indigo, the classic two-building complex included 18 luxury apartments on the top three floors and 44,000 square feet of office space, as well as a leased Starbucks on the ground floor,” he said.  “The complexity of the property translated into several issues for which we were able to provide in-depth counsel, ranging from office space encumbered by a below-market lease to lack of hotel-owned parking.  Third, the hotel had been operating under IHG’s Hotel Indigo brand for less than a year and was still ramping up, so the project was sold on upside potential.

“One of the major advantages we brought to the table, literally, was a seasoned former IHG executive, Brown Kessler, who joined our firm a year ago after serving for 16 years as IHG vice president of franchise development.  Brown was directly responsible for overseeing the development of six of IHG’s hotel brands, including Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.  His intimate knowledge of the company and its brands, as well as his strong relationship with the many franchisees were invaluable to the process.”

Hunter pointed out that those kinds of personal connections enabled the firm to target its marketing and market the complex more widely, which generated strong interest from many qualified buyers.  In the end, the firm received 11 competitive offers.  “The trustee achieved its pricing goals, and the buyer sees tremendous upside potential with total ramp up.  The key was Brown’s first-hand knowledge of IHG-branded hotels and the qualified potential buyers he was able to bring to the deal.” 

Hunter explained that over the years, the firm has developed strong relationships with the major hotel brands.  “We are in regular contact with all of the brands, including IHG, as well as the owners and franchisees.  IHG-branded hotels have held up well in a challenging economy and have distinguished themselves in the recovery.  In this particular case, the Hotel Indigo brand was a major plus and enabled us to achieve an attractive price.”

Located at 301 Union Street in the heart of downtown Nashville, the two adjacent former bank office buildings, 14 and 15 stories high, built in 1909 and 1926, are minutes from the State Capitol, County Courthouse, Ryman Auditorium and Printer’s Alley and major businesses.