Colorado Real Estate Journal - March 4, 2015
A Texas billionaire has purchased the landmark Hotel Jerome in the heart of Aspen, as part of a $72.5 million deal. Dan Friedkin and Iconic Properties-Jerome LLC purchased the 126-year-old property at 330 E. Main St. for $69.15 million, according to the Pitkin County Assessor’s Office. Iconic Properties is affiliated with Friedkin. As part of the deal, Friedkin also acquired the nearby Cortina Lodge, a two-story building that provides housing for Hotel Jerome employees, according to records. Friedkin also paid $3.35 million for the former Aspen Times newspaper building, records shows. The former newspaper building likely will be turned into a three-story building with four suites and a fitness center, indicated a report in the Aspen Times. Friedkin is no stranger to the Hotel Jerome. Friedkin, who has a personal worth of $3.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine, is the majority owner of Auberge Resorts Collection. Auberge Resorts has operated the 92-room Hotel Jerome since 2011 on behalf of the previous owner and seller, Chicago-based DRW Real Estate. “My family and I have enjoyed many years of visiting and owning residences in Aspen and it’s a very special place to me personally,” Friedkin said in a statement last month, after the purchase. “I could not be more pleased to welcome Hotel Jerome into our investment portfolio,” Friedkin continued. “It has an enviable and storied history as a landmark American hotel, and it is most certainly one of the flagship properties of the Auberge Resorts Collection,” Friedkin said. He commended Don Wilson, managing partner of DRW, for “bringing the Jerome back to glory,” Friedkin said, “and I’m honored to take stewardship of the hotel, ensuring it remains one of the great hotels of the United States.” Wilson returned the compliment. “We fully support Dan Friedkin and Auberge Resorts in this transition,” Wilson said. “Under Dan’s stewardship and Auberge’s management, Hotel Jerome has a very bright future,” Wilson said. The Jerome purchase supports Friedkin’s strategy to develop a world-class hotel investment brand that owns and, through Auberge Resorts Collection, operates one-of-a-kind luxury properties, according to the company. On a personal front, it reflects his lifelong passion for outdoor pursuits and adventure, an interest that dovetails with many of his business ventures, according to the company. As chairman and CEO of privately held Friedkin Group, Friedkin manages investments across a diverse array of private businesses, including entertainment, aviation, wholesale and retail automotive distribution and high-end hospitality asset development. In addition to the hotel business, Friedkin is the owner and chairman Gulf States Toyota, an auto distributorship that has the exclusive rights to import and distribute Toyota vehicles in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma, according to Forbes. Forbes, in an article last year that ranked Friedkin as the 167th richest person on its Forbes 400 list, said the dealership has almost $8 billion a year in sales and is the largest private business in Houston. He also is an avid conservationist. The Friedkin Conservation Fund conserves the habitat and wildlife on more than 7 million acres in Tanzania. The Friedkin family also has donated more than $100 million to support wildlife conservation and anti-poaching efforts in East Africa. Friedkin also serves as chairman of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. He has helped fund the $38 million purchase by conservation groups and the wildlife agency of a 17,000-acre coastal ranch in Texas.