NEW YORK—Carey Watermark Investors, a non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing in lodging and lodging-related properties, announced that it has acquired Hyatt Place Austin Downtown, a 296-room upscale select-service hotel, for $87 million. The acquisition was financed with $56.5 million of debt.
Austin is one of the top performing hotel markets in the United States and for the third consecutive year, the city was ranked as No. 1 “Fastest Growing City in America” by Forbes magazine in 2013. Austin benefits from many corporate and leisure hotel demand generators, including one of the nation’s largest universities with more than 54,000 undergraduate students, a large government presence, and booming technology, medical, media, and biotechnology sectors. Additionally, Austin hosts numerous festivals and leisure events, including SXSW and Austin City Limits and is home to the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.
Hyatt Place Austin Downtown is located in the heart of the city, one block west of the 881,000-square-foot Austin Convention Center, two blocks from the Sixth Street entertainment district, one-half mile from the State Capitol building, and one mile from the University of Texas campus. There is significant corporate demand in the Austin market, including a large concentration of technology businesses. Major companies in the area include Dell, Apple, AMD, Whole Foods, and Silicon Labs. Additionally, the hotel is close to more than 50 restaurants and only 15 minutes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
The hotel will continue to be managed by the original developer, White Lodging Services Corporation, a fully integrated hotel ownership, development, and operations company focused on developing and operating premium-branded hotels in growing urban markets across the United States. White Lodging Services Corporation will operate the hotel under a long-term management agreement.
