The Procaccianti Group last week announced it is venturing into a new market, Manhattan, with the acquisition of two hotels there, for undisclosed prices.
The Cranston-based company, the nation’s fourth-largest hotel owner, said it had finalized two purchases in September: the Holiday Inn SoHo and the Tudor Hotel at The United Nations. Renovations are planned for both, including between $8 million and $10 million of renovation investment in the Tudor Hotel, said Ralph V. Izzi Jr., spokesman for Procaccianti.
[The total cost for both properties “exceeds $250 million, which includes the renovations planned for the Tudor,” Izzi told Providence Business News in an e-mail interview after the press deadline for the PBN’s print edition. “The total, however, does not include the renovation cost for the Holiday Inn Soho, which is currently being finalized and is expected to be significant.”]
The company now owns 59 hotels in 20 states.
Holiday Inn SoHo, on Lafayette Street, has 227 guest rooms, a conference center and The Lafayette Grill. It has a prime location in a culturally important neighborhood – which gives it a “lot of built-in demand drivers,” said Izzi.
“It’s located right in SoHo, which is one of the most thriving and dynamic neighborhoods in Manhattan,” Izzi said. “That particular part of Manhattan has had a tremendous resurgence in the office market and the residential market as well.”
The second hotel, The Tudor at The United Nations, on East 42nd Street, is in the center of what Izzi called a thriving business area – surrounded by the U.N., Pfizer world headquarters and Metropolitan Life Insurance. The renovations planned for guest rooms and public areas are extensive, Izzi said.
“The hotel had undergone some renovations a while ago, and it’s ready for another,” Izzi said of the 300-room property, which was built in 1931 and is part of the Tudor City Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. “It’s truly an irreplaceable asset, given its location and the history of the building as well. Regarding its location, the very fact that it’s located near the United Nations” is important, he said.
The hotels will be managed by Louis Llach, who had previously served as Helmsley Enterprises operations director.
The 59 hotels owned by Procaccianti represent a total of 15,568 guest rooms in states including California, Texas and Florida. Along with the 200 employees based in Rhode Island, another 8,000 – up 600 since the purchase of the Marriot Buffalo Niagara in June – are employed through the company’s hotels. In Rhode Island, Procaccianti owns eight hotels, including The Westin Providence, the Hilton Providence and the Holiday Inn South Kingstown.
In a news release, Robert Leven, chief investment officer for Procaccianti, noted that the company had been interested in entering the New York City market “for some time.”
“Despite the significant asset appreciation that has occurred over the last few years, we believe it to be one of the best long-term investment markets in the country and the world,” he said.
Hotels, too, are only a part of Procaccianti’s investment portfolio – the company has owned or developed more than 20 million square feet, with a total value that adds up to more than $6 billion. •
