"We are delighted with the Hotel's acceptance," stated Tom Mace, general manager of the hotel. "The Hotel has a strategic location here in Tusayan/Grand Canyon and combines some of the best amenities of any hotel in the area."

The hotel will accommodate guests staying in the area and provide an entertainment experience with a dinner theater for the park's visitors. Grand Canyon National Park receives more than 5 million visitors touring the park each year. Occupancy rates for the hotel are expected to be strong, with peak occupancy occurring during the summer and winter months. Excel Legacy owns 65 percent of the project and receives a 12 percent preferred return on any funds directly invested.

Legacy has also acquired two projects through joint venture partnership, (i) Desert Fashion Plaza, an urban mall in Palm Springs, Calif., which it intends to redevelop into an entertainment center, and (ii) a Canadian Office complex in Winnipeg, Canada. These projects are part of a strong pipeline totaling more than $1.5 billion of opportunities for Legacy in various stages of planning and/or development.

Legacy is a public real estate company organized to create value through the acquisition, development and management of real property and real property related operating companies. The company is actively pursuing a variety of real estate opportunities including, among others, developing long-term, mixed-use, entertainment projects, engaging in short-term trading opportunities, investing in properties requiring significant restructuring or redevelopment in order to create substantial value, such as changing the use, tenant mix or focus of the property and acquiring single-tenant properties that can be leveraged with long-term fully amortizing debt.