JMI Buys Hyatt
Believe it or not, JMI Realty's purchase of the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center still gives the new owner some wriggle room for value-add.
This week, Texas-based JMI purchased the 451-room four star hotel for $60M from Hyatt Hotel Corp. (Hyatt paid $50M for the hotel in the '90s.) JMI's Greg Clay says, "Denver is in the midst of a really strong recovery, and we are confident that the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center can take advantage of that."
So, why value-add? HREC CEO Mike Cahill (who brokered the sale for Hyatt along with Geoff Davis) tells us Hyatt spent $5M in renovations at the beginning of the year. But for JMI, the company plans to add meeting space. JMI is installing Davidson Hotels & Resorts to manage the property.
"I would still say there's more demand for hotels than there is product to buy," Mike tells us. For the Hyatt, HREC only presented the opportunity to a "limited group of investors" (some 200 groups) and received 15 first-round offers. (We should do the same thing with this couch we're trying to move. Sorry, Craiglist. You have too many buyers.) HREC has been averaging about 75 hotel listings a month. Most recently, Mike has brought aResidence Inn (above) and a Marriott Courtyard just outside Las Vegas to market.
