New Hotel Group Closes $10M Dallas Buy

Zaya S. Younan, chairman and CEO of the Woodland Hills, CA investment group, tells GlobeSt.com that he will spend $100 million this year for eight more hotels and $250 million next year to amass 20 properties with the same speed that he built an office portfolio in an assembly of 3.5 million sf in 28 buildings in two years. The first deed to roll is 2645 LBJ Freeway, an eight-acre property bought from Wyndham International Inc. of Dallas.

As he did with the office buys around town, Younan is jumping into a top-to-bottom renovation, inside and out, with an estimated price tag of $2 million. The Holiday Inn flag stays in place with a new licensing agreement struck with the UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group Plc., the start of a relationship that Younan plans to expand as he sets out on a buying mission in the US, Spain, Germany, England and France.

"During the past two years, we've been monitoring the hospitality market and all the factors in the economic cycle have fallen into place, making this the right time to move into hospitality," Younan said in a press release. "While we intend to maintain our competitive edge in the office market, our diversification into the hospitality industry is a priority."

With the Dallas deed in hand, Younan is talking about expanding the 15,000 sf of meeting space either through an interior reconfiguration or adding onto the 25-year-old structure. The acquisition was funded with a mezzanine loan from United Central Bank in Dallas.

Peter Bheda, president and CEO of Dallas-based Platinum Portfolio Ltd., will manage the Holiday Inn Select property, which has Internet-ready rooms, fitness center, cocktail lounge, restaurant and business services. The first holding for Younan Hospitality Division has a RevPAR of $48, but that's in flux, Younan says of a hotel with room rates ranging from $80 to $130 per night. Younan Properties represented itself at the bargaining table while Wyndham had Ron Danko of CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s Dallas office handling the sale of an 11-year hold with an assessment of $11 million by the Dallas Central Appraisal District.