Hersha Takes New Midtown Hotel

In 2004, Hersha acquired five hotels and preferred equity interests in two joint ventures with an aggregate asset value of approximately $87 million. The five wholly owned hotels include the 120-suite Residence Inn by Marriott-Greenbelt in Maryland, near Washington, DC; the 88-room Hilton Garden Inn, Gettysburg, PA.; the 125-room Residence Inn Boston/Framingham, MA.; the 73-room Comfort Inn, Frederick, MD; and the 96-room Holiday Inn Express in Hartford, for which the company also assumed the underlying ground lease.

The two preferred equity joint venture acquisitions--the 180-room Four Points by Sheraton Boston/Logan International Airport, in Massachusetts, and the 130-room Courtyard by Marriott Ewing Hopewell in New Jersey, near Princeton--are structured to allow HT unrestrained participation in the current recovery in the lodging industry, while providing protection from future downside, according to the company.