Demand Ramps Up for This Kind of Hotel

Baisiwala: “The campus of three hotels in BRIC will cater across the market (extended stay, select service and luxury) at a premium waterfront location and surrounded by 50,000 square feet of food and retail space.”

SAN DIEGO—In line with a global trend, there is a strong demand in San Diego for boutique and select-service hotels that offer great accommodations in a great location, with amenities, at a competitive price, Portman Holdings’ CEO Ambrish Baisiwala tells GlobeSt.com. As we recently reported, the development team consisting of Portman, Lankford & Associates and Hensel Phelps has secured financing for the second phase of BRIC, a hotel-centric mixed-use development formerly known as Lane Field here, and began construction shortly thereafter.

The InterContinental Hotels & Resorts property will feature 400 guest rooms atop ground-level restaurants and shops along Broadway and Pacific Highway in Downtown San Diego. Hong Kong-based China Orient Asset Management International (COAMI) provided equity financing and PNC Bank, N.A. & Regions Financial Corp. provided construction loans for the approximately $217-million development. We spoke exclusively with Baisiwala about how hospitality is changing in this submarket, trends in urban hotel development and how the firm underwrites its hotel properties.