The DoubleTree near the Jefferson Hotel has a sale and rebranding in the works. Photo by Katie Demeria.
An out-of-town company is working to snatch up a downtown hotel and plans to bring a new brand to the Richmond market.
Arizona-based Graduate Hotels is in the process of purchasing the DoubleTree by Hilton Richmond Downtown at 301 W. Franklin St. and will embark on a massive renovation project on the 15-story property.
The 230-room hotel is currently owned by Richmond Hotel Partners LP, an affiliate of real estate investment firm E2M Partners. The Dallas-based company purchased the 151,000-square-foot hotel in 2006 for $9.5 million.
In email obtained by BizSense, the hotel’s current owners told individuals in the local hotel market that the property is headed toward a sale.
The email said the hotel will close for business March 2, after which Graduate Hotels will begin a multimillion-dollar renovation project, with a tentative opening date set for January 2016.
An associate with E2M Partners declined to comment on the pending sale.
Ben Gottlieb, a spokesman with Graduate Hotels, said the company does not comment on pending transactions.
Graduate Hotels targets college towns, according to its website. The company has established hotels in Tempe, Arizona, and Athens, Georgia. This spring it will open three more locations in Charlottesville, Madison, Wisconsin, and Oxford, Mississippi.
The Franklin Street hotel sits in the heart of VCU territory.
“Every site and property celebrates and commemorates the youthful optimism of school days and cultivates the spirit of each community in a bright new way,” the website says.
North Carolina-based Concord Hospitality Enterprises Co. has managed the Franklin Street hotel for the current owner since 2011. Last month, Concord issued notices of termination to the 77 employees currently working at the DoubleTree.
Concord spokeswoman Debra Punke said the layoffs are related to the pending closing of the hotel as the new owners prepare for renovations.
The 60-day notices were issued to employees with a March 29 termination date.
“We’re working hard to assist them in this next chapter of their careers,” Punke said.
Founded in Raleigh in 1985, Concord manages 90 hotels in 24 states and two Canadian provinces. The downtown DoubleTree is the only hotel it operates in Richmond. It works with three other Virginia hotels in Roanoke, Lynchburg and Springfield.
E2M Partners was founded in 1995. According to city records, DoubleTree is the only property owned by either E2M or Richmond Hotel Partners in the city.
The DoubleTree near the Jefferson Hotel has a sale and rebranding in the works. Photo by Katie Demeria.
An out-of-town company is working to snatch up a downtown hotel and plans to bring a new brand to the Richmond market.
Arizona-based Graduate Hotels is in the process of purchasing the DoubleTree by Hilton Richmond Downtown at 301 W. Franklin St. and will embark on a massive renovation project on the 15-story property.
The 230-room hotel is currently owned by Richmond Hotel Partners LP, an affiliate of real estate investment firm E2M Partners. The Dallas-based company purchased the 151,000-square-foot hotel in 2006 for $9.5 million.
In email obtained by BizSense, the hotel’s current owners told individuals in the local hotel market that the property is headed toward a sale.
The email said the hotel will close for business March 2, after which Graduate Hotels will begin a multimillion-dollar renovation project, with a tentative opening date set for January 2016.
An associate with E2M Partners declined to comment on the pending sale.
Ben Gottlieb, a spokesman with Graduate Hotels, said the company does not comment on pending transactions.
Graduate Hotels targets college towns, according to its website. The company has established hotels in Tempe, Arizona, and Athens, Georgia. This spring it will open three more locations in Charlottesville, Madison, Wisconsin, and Oxford, Mississippi.
The Franklin Street hotel sits in the heart of VCU territory.
“Every site and property celebrates and commemorates the youthful optimism of school days and cultivates the spirit of each community in a bright new way,” the website says.
North Carolina-based Concord Hospitality Enterprises Co. has managed the Franklin Street hotel for the current owner since 2011. Last month, Concord issued notices of termination to the 77 employees currently working at the DoubleTree.
Concord spokeswoman Debra Punke said the layoffs are related to the pending closing of the hotel as the new owners prepare for renovations.
The 60-day notices were issued to employees with a March 29 termination date.
“We’re working hard to assist them in this next chapter of their careers,” Punke said.
Founded in Raleigh in 1985, Concord manages 90 hotels in 24 states and two Canadian provinces. The downtown DoubleTree is the only hotel it operates in Richmond. It works with three other Virginia hotels in Roanoke, Lynchburg and Springfield.
E2M Partners was founded in 1995. According to city records, DoubleTree is the only property owned by either E2M or Richmond Hotel Partners in the city.