NEW YORK—Carey Watermark Investors 2 Incorporated (CWI 2) has acquired the historic Courtyard Nashville Downtown, a select-service hotel that includes 192 guestrooms and is located in downtown Nashville within the Printers Alley Historic District.
The Courtyard Nashville Downtown is a 12-story historic building on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally built in 1895 using steel, concrete, and brick masonry construction, the property was home to First National Bank from 1905 until it was converted to the Courtyard in 1998. The hotel’s reception area and lounge/restaurant are housed in the bank’s former “Grand Hall,” with distinctive details that include 30-foot ceilings, extensive millwork, and floor-to-ceiling windows. Because the property is a retrofit of a historic structure, guestrooms are generally oversized. The property is in excellent physical condition, having recently concluded a complete refresh of the guestrooms and corridors.
The hotel is located within the Printers Alley Historic District, a nationally registered district comprised of 15 historic buildings built between 1874 and 1929. The hotel is also in close proximity to the city’s primary leisure demand generators, including the nightclubs and restaurants of Nashville’s famed Broadway, as well as the Gaylord Entertainment Center, Bridgestone Arena, Music Row, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. The hotel is also located within the central business district, which contains more than 15 million square feet of office space. Additionally, the hotel is proximate to the new 1.2-million square-foot Music City Convention Center, which opened in May 2013.
In April, the property completed a $2.9 million renovation, which included a full soft and case good replacement in the guestrooms, upgrades to the guest bathrooms, and a refresh of the guestroom corridors. A complete lobby renovation was completed in 2012. As part of CWI 2’s business plan, the hotel will continue to be managed by Marriott International.
“CWI 2’s investment in the Courtyard Nashville Downtown represented the opportunity to secure a well-located, newly renovated select-service hotel in a market we have been actively targeting as a result of its recent growth and strong outlook,” stated Michael Medzigian, chief executive officer of CWI 2. “We believe that the hotel—with its attractive location within Nashville’s historical district coupled with the uniqueness of the historic property—represents a strong addition to CWI 2’s portfolio.”
