Pebblebrook To Redo Wharf Hotel
Pebblebrook just picked up the Radisson Hotel Fisherman's Wharf and Retail for $132M from Square Mile and has plans to spend millions more on the site. (Good, we're not the only one who gets upsold when they stroll on the Wharf.)
Pebblebrook finance head Matt Partridge tells us closing on the 355-room tourist magnet across from Pier 39 was "complicated" because 44k SF of ground-level retail is attached and it's on a ground lease (with 48 years remaining... that's only two years less than Robinson Cano's new deal). CEO Jon Bortz (above) was attracted to the property's diverse income streams, including that retail revenue. CVS and Johnny Rockets are tenants, as is one of only two IHOPs in the city (we consider pancakes a long-term asset, too). We also learned longtime property manager Westmont Hospitality is out and Davidson is in.
Jon sees the site as a big fixer upper and plans to invest $18M to $20M in the next two years to renovate all rooms and public areas, inside and out. The hotel got a mini $4.5M facelift last year to refresh the rooms and lobby. The new design under Pebblebrook's watch will be overseen by Dawson Design Associates, the same team that repositioned the company's Hotel Zetta. Renovations will start in the Q4 2014, and the company plans to rename the property after they wrap up. No decisions have been made yet about the flag.
The hotel also features 1,720 SF of meeting space and a newly renovated fitness center. Guest rooms have remodeled bathrooms, new Sleep Number beds, and 37-inch flat-screen TVs. Originally built in 1964 as 250-room hotel with 14k SF of retail space, the hotel expanded in 1999. The marketed sale had other bidders, says Matt, but the process got wrapped up quickly. He expects to see lots of hotel product on the market when late January rolls around. (People need places to hide their snowmen from the sun.) Pebblebrook already has a solid presence in SF and owns the nearby Argonaut Hotel and three others across the city.
