Carey Watermark Investors, New York City, is acquiring the 553-room Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel for about US$140 million, according to a report at ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com. The seller is Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, which repossessed the property last year from its previous owner, Chicago-based Walton Street Capital.
Sources said Carey Watermark is expected to spend about US$15 million renovating the hotel, which it will control through a long-term ground lease. Including the ground lease, the transaction values the hotel at about $360,000 a room.
At roughly US$140 million, the price falls well short of the US$175 million in debt Walton Street owed RBS when it relinquished the hotel.