Bill Murney with CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s Phoenix office tells GlobeSt.com that the four-year hold-up in the Tucson hotel's sale was due largely to a financial picture that didn't quite gel. "It didn't make financial sense for anybody," says Murney, noting a ground lease on the property combined with the need for $3 million in renovation work and Embassy's hesitation to cut a franchise deal until all the details were worked out, complicated the transaction. But after four years of working out the intricacies, Hilton turned over the 148,104-sf property to the Tucson firm, allowing it to secure a 10-year franchise under the Embassy flag.

The 30-year-old hotel has its own unique history in Tucson where the three-story property, built on three acres at Broadway and Craycroft Road, was one of the first all-suite hotels ever to be erected. Built as the Granada Royale Hometel by Bob Wolley, theoriginator of the all-suite concept, the hotel went through several incarnations before it ended up in the hands of the current buyer, who also owns three other Hilton-branded hotels in Tucson, says Murney, who along with CBRE's Jeff Cunningham handled the deal for Hilton.

"It was a strategic play," Murney says of NCH's acquisition, which boasts an average occupancy of 81% at rates of about $95 per night. "The buyer owns about 14 acres three miles away with a potential interest to buy an Embassy in the future and now that he controls the franchise for Tucson, he has the ability to do so.