Hotel Thayer reopens its doors following restoration The Hotel Thayer, located in West Point, N.Y., has reopened its doors, following a $26 million restoration by a group of alumni from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
To accomplish the hotel's major renovations, which include enlarging and updating the existing guestrooms and bathrooms - and adding new carpeting, wallpaper and furniture - the number of rooms was reduced from 197 to 128. The hotel's nine suites were also upgraded and refurbished.
The hotel, which was built in 1926 and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places , has been host to dignitaries such as President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
Originally constructed to accommodate U.S. Military Academy personnel and their guests, the hotel is a successor to the West Point Hotel and is named for Col. Sylvanius Thayer, superintendent of the Academy from 1817 to 1833.
Clark Construction completes timeshare project Construction has been completed on the Fairfield Alexandria Timeshare - the second of three projects completed by Bethesda, Md.-based Clark Construction. The 186,000 sq. ft. building is located in the King Street Metroplace complex, and is owned by Little Rock, Ark.-based Fairfield Community Inc.
The facility offers seven levels of residential suites with 88 units and provides residents easy access to the Metro, as well as restaurants, retail and tourist attractions.
Other Clark Construction projects in the complex include the King Street Metroplace office building and the Hilton Hotel.
Holliday Fenoglio secures $107 million for Doubletree hotels Houston-based Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP has arranged $107 million in permanent financing for a portfolio of four Doubletree Guest Suites hotels. The lender was Boston-based Mutual Life Insurance Co.
The portfolio includes a 224-room property in Atlanta, a 345-room hotel in Chicago, a 253-room property in Santa Monica, Calif., and a 275-room hotel in Waltham, Mass. Built between 1986 and 1990, the hotels have also undergone major renovations between 1996 and 1999. Additionally, each property has average hotel occupancy rates in the mid- to high-70% range.
Private investors dominate Canadian hotel market According to a report by Toronto-based Colliers International Hotel Realty, the Canadian hotel investment market was dominated by private Canadian and American companies during second-quarter 1999. Colliers reports that the lack of public market interest is due to the lack of capital available in the public sector.
The report notes that Canadian companies led the buyer pack, representing slightly more than half of the total transaction volume, while American investors followed with 38.6%. However, combined buyers for first- and second-quarter 1999 was primarily American, capturing 82.4% of the transactions, while the Canadian investors trailed with 16.9%.
The report also notes that, during the second quarter, the Canadian hotel investment market was extremely slow with only six transactions valued at $24 million. The most notable sales were the 39-room Glenerin Inn for $6.7 million and the 100-room City Garden Hotel for $9.4 million.
Colliers expects that private Canadian and American investors will continue to dominate the Canadian hotel market for the remainder of the year.