Noble Acquires 483-Room Hyatt Regency

However, he says the price was the biggest factor in the purchase. "We bought at a significant discount to replacement cost, at about 50% what it would cost to build the hotel today," Brunt tells GlobeSt.com. The property is attached via skyway to the city's convention center, the Midwest Airlines Center, and is close to the entertainment district. "The city's gone through a positive change in the past five to seven years," he says. "There was just 3,500 new residential units get built, and they're bringing in more action and life to a downtown that struggled in the 1980s and early 90s." Also, more corporations are landing Downtown, he says, such as Manpower and a new Harley Davidson museum.

Noble, based in Atlanta, plans to spend $18 million to renovate the Hyatt. "The property has been well-kept from a structural standpoint, but it needs heavy room and lobby renovation," Brunt says. "We saw a kind of gap in the market between this hotel's performance and its competitors, we think by spending this money we can bridge that gap and bring it up to a competitive position."

This is the company's first hotel purchase in Wisconsin, and a continuation of a new relationship with Hyatt. In June, Noble bought six AmeriSuites hotels from a Hyatt affiliate, and said it would spend $22.6 million to renovate the 754 rooms in Atlanta; Charlotte, NC; Greenville, SC; Dallas; Topeka, KS and Roanoke, VA.