HEI Hospitality Buys Westin Philadelphia From Starwood for $89M
PHILADELPHIA, PA, November 9, 2005. For a price of $89 million, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has sold its Westin Philadelphia hotel to HEI Hospitality. This is the 11th investment made by HEI's HEI Hospitality Fund, LLC, a $275-million hospitality-focused discretionary equity fund that was formed by HEI's principals in April of 2004. HEI's wholly owned subsidiary, Merritt Hospitality, will now operate the hotel.
HEI is now planning on spending $10 million on a renovation project at the 289-room Westin that will involve the complete renovation of the existing guestrooms, meeting space and public areas. The project will also yield four new guest suites and reposition the hotel's restaurant as part of a reconcepting plan. The renovation project is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2006.
The 14-story property originally opened as a Ritz-Carlton in 1990 and converted to the Westin flag in 1999. It is located in a mixed-use complex that also contains 2.5 million sf of office space, a shopping mall and a four-story parking garage. The hotel features 14,500 sf of meeting space, a three-meal-a-day restaurant, a fitness center and a business center.
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