Carey Watermark Investors Buys in Downtown Minneapolis

Public, non-traded REIT Carey Watermark Investors Incorporated (CWI) announced today that it has acquired a full-service hotel in downtown Minneapolis for $66.4 million.

The Westin Minneapolis features 214 rooms, over 9,000 square feet of interior meeting space, 4,700 skyway retail spaces, an indoor heated swimming pool, a fitness studio, a business center, and a full-service restaurant and bar.

HEI Hotels & Resorts, an upscale hospitality owner/operator of 41 full-service luxury hotels throughout the U.S., will continue to manage the property.

Originally built in 1942 as the Farmers & Mechanics Bank building, the hotel features a repurposed lobby with 34-foot vaulted ceilings, a marble staircase, and wood-carved emblems.

“CWI’s investment in the Westin Minneapolis represented the opportunity to acquire an irreplaceable landmark and leading full-service hotel in a strong market. Our ability to acquire a consistently yielding, quality property with unique inherent long-term value that requires minimal near term capital investment made it a particularly attractive acquisition for Carey Watermark Investors,” commented Michael Medzigian, Chief Executive Officer.

CWI financed the acquisition with $43.5 million of debt. Its total outlay is $69.6 million which includes $3.2 million of acquisition-related costs and planned capital expenditures.

The REIT closed its public offering in December 2014 after raising gross proceeds of just over $577 million.