DECEMBER 2-DECEMBER 15, 2015
by John Rebchook
About 18 months ago, Gov.
John Hickenlooper thought
that the redevelopment of a
site at West 38th Avenue and
Wadsworth Boulevard was so
important that he signed a bill
at the Wheat Ridge site.
The site, which the city has
wanted to see redeveloped
for decades, along with even
much larger projects in the
works inWheat Ridge, is now
in jeopardy.
That is because on Nov. 3,
voters in Wheat Ridge nar-
rowly adopted Resolution
300, which requires voter
approval for any tax-incre-
ment financing above $2.5
million.
The ballot measure is
extremely unusual in that
it was made retroactive to
March 1, 2015.
If upheld following an
expected court challenge, it
would kill the $6.2 million TIF
approved by the Wheat Ridge
City Council last June.
Wheat Ridge City Coun-
cilman Zachary Urban had
this to say, in opposing the
TIF vote in June: "We're giv-
ing an obscene amount of
money on an outdated plan,
and the whole process has
been obscene, obfuscated and
is now obsolete because it's
taken so long to get to this
point."
In November, Urban said
he could not speak to certain
aspects of the ballot question
on the advice of counsel.
However, he said the city is
taking steps to “reduce barri-
ers for the development com-
munity seeking tax-increment
financing for development
projects in Wheat Ridge.
“We are currently planning
to make substantial modifi-
cations to each of the city of
Wheat Ridge's five redevel-
opment area plans,” Urban
explained.
“We are seeking amend-
ments to the plan areas to
allow for the initiation of the
collection of incremental rev-
enues. We have just sent the
proposed amendments to
Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill in May 2014 at a development site at West 38th Avenue and
Wadsworth Boulevard. The development is now in jeopardy.
by Jill Jamieson-Nichols
The Embassy Suites by
Hilton hotel across from the
Colorado Convention Center
eclipsed Denver’s previous
recordpriceperkeywithits sale
to aNewYork-based real estate
investment trust, according to
public records.
CareyWatermark Investors 2
paid $170 million – or a record
$421,836 per key – for the 403-
suite hotel at 1420 Stout St. That
beats the previous record set
by the JW Marriott in Cherry
Creek, which drew $370,408
per key inMay 2011.
“It really is a landmark,
benchmark sale,” said Mike
Cahill, founder and CEO of
HREC-Hospitality Real Estate
Counselors, who was not
involved in the sale. “It’s the
highest price per key, if those
numbers are correct, in Denver
history.”
Cahill said the price is
indicative of “the kind of great
investment attitude people
have for Denver, and especially
downtown Denver.” The
overall price was not a record,
he noted, because much larger
hotels, such as the 1,225-room
Sheraton Downtown Denver
Hotel, which sold for $176
million in 2008, have fetched
higher prices.
The Embassy Suites by
Hilton Denver – Downtown/
Convention Center includes
26,000 square feet of meeting
space, a full-service restaurant
and bar, a leased restaurant on
the street level, a Starbucks,
a fitness center and indoor
swimming pool.
“The acquisition of the
Embassy Suites by Hilton
Denver
–
Downtown/
Convention Center allowed
us to add a well-located,
institutional-quality, full-service
property in a strong market to
the CWI 2 portfolio,” Michael
Medzigian, CEOof CWI 2, said
in a statement.
“Given the historical strength
of the Denver market, as well
as the development pipeline
for office, residential and
retail uses, we are confident
that Denver will continue to
be one of the country’s leaders
in terms of RevPAR growth.
Additionally, we believe many
factors will enable the hotel to
maintain its position as a top
performer among full-service
properties in downtown
Denver, thereby providing
attractive risk-adjusted returns
for our investors,” he said.
CWI 2 plans a guest room
soft goods renovation this
winter.
Cornerstone Real Estate
Advisors sold the Embassy
Suites on behalf of Denver
Downtown Hotel LLC. The
group bought the hotel from
its developer in 2012 for $134.8
million, or $334,491 per key.
The 17-story hotel, which
opened in late 2010, features
a 14-story glass “sky curtain”
that showcases an open-air
atrium and fills the building
with natural light. The hotel
was the first LEED Silver-
certified hotel in Denver and
the first in the Embassy Suites
system.
Surrounded by downtown
amenities, it is across the street
fromthe TheatreDistrict/Con-
vention Center light-rail sta-
tion.
Denver-based Sage Hospi-
tality, one of the country’s larg-
est privately held hospitality
investment, management and
development companies, will
continue to manage the hotel.
Embassy Suites by Hilton
is a full-service upscale brand
that offers two-room suites,
free made-to-order break-
fast and a nightly two-hour
reception with complimentary
drinks and snacks. The brand
has in excess of 220 existing
hotels and more than 40 addi-
tional ones in the pipeline.
Carey Watermark Investors
2 is a nontraded REIT that
invests in lodging and lodg-
ing-related properties.
s
Carey Watermark paid $421,836 per key for the Embassy Suites by
Hilton Denver – Downtown/Convention Center.
CONTENTS
Inside
