One Down, One to Go in Hotel Disposition

The first to go is the 247-key Radisson Fort Worth North at 2540 Meacham Blvd. The sale has sparked a review of the $13.95-million ask of its twin, Radisson Fort Worth South at 100 Alta Mesa East Blvd., says Monty S. Levy, senior vice president for Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.

Levy tells GlobeSt.com that the duo came to market about four months ago, with several would-be buyers putting offers on the table for the Meacham Boulevard asset. He credits its immediate sale to the proximity to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and positioning in the city's northern tier, which has been one of the region's top growth submarkets in recent years.

"It's a good box with really good visibility from an interstate in a growing market," Levy stresses. "There's a good opportunity to improve rate and occupancy." As of October 2006, the hotel's occupancy was 49% while RevPAR was $39. The year-to-date average daily room rate was $79.25.

The Charlotte, NC-based Allegiance Hospitality, known for opportunistic plays in the hotel industry, put $12 million into renovating the two hotels in a near 50-50 division of the cap-ex budget. The renovations were completed in April, with the Holiday Inn flags coming down for the first time in their 20-year histories and Radisson banners going up. Levy says the deal, as is most often the case with hotel sales, required a new license to keep the Radisson flag flying overhead.

Levy says the 11,000 sf of meeting space also carried weight with the all-cash buyer because it's one of the largest blocks in its submarket so there's added leverage for group or weekend business travel bookings. "He will be penetrating that market with a fully renovated hotel," he points out.

Terry Tognazzini, principal of Tog Enterprises, is a long-term holder, who acquired the Holiday Inn Select at 2645 LBJ Freeway in the North Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch at midyear 2006. Tognazzini began as a multifamily investor in California before branching out to the hospitality sector. The Fort Worth purchase is his fifth hotel acquisition, according to Levy.