Carey Watermark Investors Makes $87 Million Acquisition

Carey Watermark Investors (CWI) announced today that it has acquired Hyatt Place Austin Downtown in Austin, Texas. The non-traded REIT is focused on lodging related properties and with this acquisition, has found a 296-room upscale select-service hotel.

The property is located on 211 East 3rd Street just one block from the Austin Convention Center.

For a purchase price of $87 million and $3.9 million of acquisition related costs, CWI has acquired a hotel with a strong brand name in a busy city that boasts one of the U.S.’s largest universities and is home to multiple festivals and leisure events. 

The 17-story building was constructed in 2013 and features an indoor pool and 1,800 square feet of meeting and function space. The property was financed with $56.5 million of debt.

Michael Medzigian, Chief Executive Officer of CWI, commented, “The acquisition of the Hyatt Place Austin Downtown represented an opportunity to invest in a newly built, high quality, select-service property in one of the strongest domestic hotel markets. As the first newly built Hyatt-branded hotel in downtown Austin in 30 years, we believe the property is well positioned to capture market share. Given the attractive purchase price, central Austin location and exciting growth prospects of the Austin market, we believe that the investment will be a solid cash flow-generating addition to our portfolio.”

CWI is managed by W.P. Carey Inc. and Watermark Capital Partners.

In its initial public offering, which ran from September 15, 2011 through September 15, 2013, the company raised $586.2 million and commenced a follow-on offering of up to an additional $350 million in December 2013.