LOS ANGELES—New York-based developer the SydellGroup has purchased the historic CommercialExchange Building from a group of private investors. Thedeveloper purchased the building for an undisclosed amount andplans to completely gut and transform the property into aboutique hotel.

"The seller chose this time to sell the property because there'sa positive momentum in the market right now that's at an all-timehigh," Chris Caras, an SVP atCBRE who represented the sellers in thetransaction, tells GlobeSt.com. Caras represented the sellers alongwith CBRE SVPs MichaelShustak and PhillipSample. Shustak tells GlobeSt.com, "A contributingfactor to these highs is the increase in demand from alternativesources. For the first time, hoteliers are looking for conversionsin Downtown Los Angeles. Until recently, this would have beenunheard-of. Competition from hotel, apartments and creativeoffice developers is pushing prices to all-time highs."

It is true that several hotel brands are rushing to fill a voidin available hotel rooms. The Marriott, forexample, recentlyopened the first dual branded hotelwith Courtyard and ResidenceInn rooms co-mingling on the same floor. The$172-million development opened on July 1 and is adjacent tothe JW Marriott hotel already locateddowntown.