Property Types
Hospitality
Jul 21, 2009
By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor
The severely wounded economy and ongoing job losses continue to inhibit travel among the leisure and business sets, but the lackluster conditions are not stopping Hyatt Hotels & Resorts from planning a new 214-room Hyatt Place within the 190-acre mixed-use Lake Pointe Towne Center in Sugar Land, Texas, about 20 miles southwest of Houston.
Hyatt Place will occupy a nearly four-acre waterfront parcel at Lake Pointe, a Planned Community Developers Ltd. project that sits at the intersection of Highway 6 and U.S. 59. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts of Chicago is developing the 135,000-square-foot hotel in a joint venture partnership with Woodbine Development Corp. The Hyatt Place brand, introduced three years ago, is an upscale select-service brand designed to attract the modern traveler. The new Sugar Land property will be the second hotel in the Greater Houston area to carry the Hyatt Place flag.
In the hospitality arena, Houston may be faring better than many other major metropolitan cities--its average occupancy rate is 60.8 percent, compared to 53.3 percent for the U.S., according to a mid-year report by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services--however, it is no exception when it comes to experiencing the ills of the economic downturn. But Hyatt has its reasons for kicking off plans to build Sugar Land's new Hyatt Place.
"Downturns are just that, downturns, inferring that upturns will eventually follow," Greg Mowatt, CFO of Woodbine Development, told CPN. "Fortunately, downturns have always lead to upticks in the economic cycle, and the best time to tee up a new project is during one of those downturns--financing is more difficult certainly, more so in the current environment, but project costs are generally much lower, with economic underwriting to desired returns easier to achieve. In this case, with an estimated completion date of early 2011, this project should be well positioned to ride that upturn in the cycle."
Specifics on just how the development of Hyatt Place will be financed are not being released. However, it is evident that someone has faith in the endeavor. "The ability to finance this project integrates a bullish perspective on the future of hospitality product, along with Woodbine's and Hyatt's track records in creating successful hotel projects," Mowatt explained. "A successful development track record, along with the predictable integrity on the part of the participants, underscores a relatively safe risk on the part of the lending community."
By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor
The severely wounded economy and ongoing job losses continue to inhibit travel among the leisure and business sets, but the lackluster conditions are not stopping Hyatt Hotels & Resorts from planning a new 214-room Hyatt Place within the 190-acre mixed-use Lake Pointe Towne Center in Sugar Land, Texas, about 20 miles southwest of Houston.
Hyatt Place will occupy a nearly four-acre waterfront parcel at Lake Pointe, a Planned Community Developers Ltd. project that sits at the intersection of Highway 6 and U.S. 59. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts of Chicago is developing the 135,000-square-foot hotel in a joint venture partnership with Woodbine Development Corp. The Hyatt Place brand, introduced three years ago, is an upscale select-service brand designed to attract the modern traveler. The new Sugar Land property will be the second hotel in the Greater Houston area to carry the Hyatt Place flag.
In the hospitality arena, Houston may be faring better than many other major metropolitan cities--its average occupancy rate is 60.8 percent, compared to 53.3 percent for the U.S., according to a mid-year report by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services--however, it is no exception when it comes to experiencing the ills of the economic downturn. But Hyatt has its reasons for kicking off plans to build Sugar Land's new Hyatt Place.
"Downturns are just that, downturns, inferring that upturns will eventually follow," Greg Mowatt, CFO of Woodbine Development, told CPN. "Fortunately, downturns have always lead to upticks in the economic cycle, and the best time to tee up a new project is during one of those downturns--financing is more difficult certainly, more so in the current environment, but project costs are generally much lower, with economic underwriting to desired returns easier to achieve. In this case, with an estimated completion date of early 2011, this project should be well positioned to ride that upturn in the cycle."
Specifics on just how the development of Hyatt Place will be financed are not being released. However, it is evident that someone has faith in the endeavor. "The ability to finance this project integrates a bullish perspective on the future of hospitality product, along with Woodbine's and Hyatt's track records in creating successful hotel projects," Mowatt explained. "A successful development track record, along with the predictable integrity on the part of the participants, underscores a relatively safe risk on the part of the lending community."
Recent Hospitality Headlines
Aug 06, 2009
Aug 05, 2009
Aug 05, 2009
Aug 04, 2009
Jul 27, 2009
Subscribe to this blog's feed
