OAK BROOK, Ill.—Inland American Lodging Group (IALG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Inland American Real Estate Trust (Inland American), announced that it has formed two new joint ventures for a combined investment of $68.5 million with Kessler Enterprises. The joint ventures will focus on developing two luxury boutique hotels, totaling 150 rooms, in Charleston, S.C., and Mountain Brook, Ala., a suburb of Birmingham. Both hotels will be affiliated with Marriott’s Autograph Collection.
“We are delighted to grow our relationship with Richard Kessler as we expand our investment in upper-upscale and luxury hotels through this mutually beneficial joint venture partnership,” said Marcel Verbaas, president and CEO, Inland American Lodging Advisor. “The development of these assets further exemplifies our strategy of adding hotels to our portfolio that are well positioned to experience strong growth and capture outsized market share in high barrier-to-entry locations.”
Verbaas continued, “Despite the significant demand and the desire of travelers for modern comforts and amenities, both Birmingham and Charleston have not experienced a new luxury hotel in their markets for more than a decade. We are excited to be able to bring these markets two outstanding new properties.”
Set to debut in early 2015 as an Autograph Collection hotel, in the city of Mountain Brook’s Lane Parke Village development, the 100-room Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook will boast an on-site Grand Bohemian Art Gallery, signature Poseidon Spa, interactive cooking school, wine blending experience, 12,630 square feet of meeting space, and a rooftop terrace and restaurant.
The Grand Bohemian Hotel Charleston is also set to debut in early 2015 as an Autograph Collection hotel, and will mark The Kessler Collection’s first property in South Carolina. The 50-room luxury boutique hotel, located in Charleston’s Historic District, will incorporate diverse offerings including an on-site Grand Bohemian Gallery, more than 3,000 square feet of meeting and event space, wine blending and tasting room with curated wine selections, fitness center, specialty coffee shop with micro-roasted coffee, farm-to-table culinary offerings with regional ingredients, as well as a rooftop restaurant and terrace.
Under the joint venture agreements, Inland American will be the majority owner of the properties and Kessler Enterprises will develop both properties. The properties will be managed by Kessler Collection Management under a 15-year management agreement.
