Behringer REIT Sells Historic St. Louis Hotel to Publicly Traded REIT
Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT I Inc., a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust, sold the 389-room Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri to publicly-traded REIT Hospitality Properties Trust (NYSE: HPT) for $87.8 million.
The hotel was built in 1922 and is located about four miles west of downtown St. Louis in the Central West End neighborhood. The REIT originally purchased the historic landmark in December 2006 as a hotel and condominium mixed-use development property that included an 11-story hotel building, five restaurants, approximately 65,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space, a five-screen movie theater, approximately 25,000 square feet of rentable office space, an outdoor pool, a fitness center, a spa, retail shops, and a five-story parking garage, as well as a 29-story residential building. Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT invested approximately $95 million into renovating the property.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale were used to pay off approximately $60.2 million in debt secured by the property. Hospitality Properties Trust plans to convert the hotel to the Royal Sonesta brand and will contract with Sonesta International Hotels to manage the hotel.
Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT I went effective in September 2005 and closed in December 2007 after raising $559 million in investor equity. Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT I approved a liquidation plan earlier this year and is in the process of selling its remaining portfolio.
