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• Chatham Lodging Acquires Hampton Inn in Portland, Maine

• Island Hospitality to Manage Hampton Inn in Portland, Maine

• Migis Hotel Group to Manage Two Ogunquit Hotels

• Pebblebrook Acquires the Hotel Vintage Park Seattle and the Hotel Vintage Plaza Portland

• The Colonial Inn of Ogunquit, Maine Completes $4 Million Renovation

• US Hotels Group Acquires Two Properties from The Carlyle Group

Eastland Park Hotel to Fly Westin Flag

7/9/2012

PORTLAND, Maine—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. together with officials of New Castle Hotels and Resorts and RockBridge today announced the upcoming opening of The Westin Portland Harborview in the spring of 2013. Currently known as the Eastland Park Hotel in Portland, Maine, the landmark property will undergo a complete $40 million renovation to implement the full suite of Westin signature amenities and services, prior to raising the Westin flag.

New Castle, along with RockBridge, an integrated hotel investment firm, acquired the hotel in 2011 with plans to restore Portland’s “grand dame hotel,” which dates back to 1927. Preserving its historical integrity, the hotel will be stripped to its earliest “bones” of concrete, bricks, and steel and updated. A significant portion of the renovation will be underwritten with historic tax credits sponsored by U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation. The Boston office of U.S. Bank Commercial Real Estate provided first mortgage financing.

“New Castle has a long, successful history of revitalizing magnificent, landmark hotels and resorts and returning them to the iconic status they once enjoyed,” said Gerry Chase, president and COO of New Castle, which currently operates four other historic landmark hotels in the northeast, in an announcement. “The careful restoration we have planned, coupled with Starwood’s world-renowned Westin flag, will ensure that we not simply renovate the Eastland, but preserve its unique character and place in the city, setting it on a path that will ensure its success in the coming years.”

“We're proud to provide historic tax credit financing for a significant redevelopment project like this,” said Laura Vowell, vice president at U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, the community investment subsidiary of U.S. Bank. “Historic tax credit financing is an important way to invest in communities and assist in revitalizing urban areas. The historic tax credit program helps preserve the integrity of historically important buildings, revitalize urban areas and create jobs. It also allows us to partner with developers like RockBridge and New Castle, which respect the character of these treasured icons. We're grateful for the partnership.”

Following renovations, all 289 guestrooms and suites at The Westin Portland Harborview will be outfitted with the Westin Heavenly Bed and the brand’s Heavenly Shower, and Heavenly Robe. The hotel will also feature in-room, high-speed Internet access and an ergonomic work space.

The renovation will include the restoration and expansion of the hotel’s “Top of the East" rooftop lounge and the complete modernization of the building’s systems, including the addition of wireless Internet service.

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