FARGO, North Dakota—Legendary Capital has sponsored the acquisition of the 142-room Fairfield Inn & Suites Denver Southwest Lakewood in a $19.4 million transaction. The deal used Legendary Capital’s proprietary Equity Preservation UPREIT (EPU) structure in which ownership contributed to the hotel in exchange for a special class of transition partnership units (T-Units), allowing for the potential preservation of the contributor’s equity as the property restabilizes.
The property is in the final stages of a conversion to a Fairfield Inn & Suites and is expected to become a consistent performer in the market. This is Legendary Capital’s second transaction where they have stepped in to help ownership face the challenges of completing a new build or conversion.
The property is located in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which has a population of 2.8 million. The city of Lakewood is one of the largest suburbs of Denver with an estimated population of nearly 162,000. Lakewood is also home to over 23 million square feet of commercial real estate, with numerous industries represented, including aerospace, IT, manufacturing, government, mining, and biomedicine.
“Suburban Denver checks all our boxes as a great place to invest, and we have a long history with Fairfield Inn & Suites and Marriott,” said CEO Corey Maple. “We are proud to include this deal in a series of successful EPU transactions.”
The property is near the Redrock Park & Amphitheatre, and the conversion is expected to be completed in time for this year’s concert season.
“The Fairfield conversion is a great move in our eyes, and we believe it’s a great fit for this submarket,” said chief investment officer Dave Durell. “We’re essentially stepping into a brand-new property in a great location close to diverse demand generators.”
The market saw RevPAR stability pre-COVID and has since rebounded to the same levels seen in 2019. Due to the ongoing conversion, future renovation work is expected to consist of a minimal property improvement plan.
