Dual-brands and Co-Living: Three Acquisitions to Watch

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Woodmont Lodging and Milestone Companies, Davidson Hotels & Resorts, and Ascott Residence Trust have all recently acquired properties. Here are details on the recent deals:

Woodmont Lodging Acquires Dual-Branded Winston-Salem Hotel Campus

Woodmont Lodging and Milestone Companies have acquired the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Winston-Salem Hanes Mall and the Home2 Suites by Hilton Winston-Salem Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, NC. The properties will be managed by Milestone Hospitality Management LLC.

Fully renovated in June 2017, the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Winston-Salem Hanes Mall is a 95-room, four-story hotel, with a breakfast area in the lobby, guest laundry facilities, an indoor pool, fitness center and hotel-wide wireless internet access. The newly built Home2 Suites by Hilton Winston-Salem Hanes Mall, which had its grand opening in February, has 91 suites across four floors and is adjacent to the SpringHill Suites.

“We are excited to expand our portfolio to the Winston-Salem market, while creating new business partnerships with Blue Vista Capital Management and Milestone Companies,” said Elliott Estes, principal at Woodmont Lodging. “The hotels are well positioned to benefit from their proximity to major demand generators in the area and are strong additions to our existing hospitality assets.

HREC Sells Country Inn & Suites in Valdosta, GA

HREC Investment Advisors has sold the 71-guestroom Country Inn & Suites located in Valdosta, GA. The property was acquired by Williams Investment Company.

HREC Investment Advisors exclusively represented the seller in this transaction, which was sold through RealINSIGHT Marketplace. The sale was negotiated by Monty Levy, managing director in the Atlanta office and Ketan Patel, managing director in the Washington DC office.

Ascott Reit Acquires Singapore Site

Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott Reit) has acquired a greenfield site for more than $45.6 million for its maiden development project. It will build the first co-living property in Singapore’s research and innovation business hub, one-north.

Located at Nepal Hill amid 400 companies, 800 start-ups and 50,000 professionals, the property is expected to be managed by its sponsor, The Ascott Limited (Ascott) under the co-living brand, Lyf. To be named Lyf one-north Singapore, the property will have 324 units. It’s slated to open in 2021. The 60-year leasehold site was put up by the JTC Corporation (JTC) for sale in a two-envelope concept and price tender. 

Bob Tan, Ascott Residence Trust Management Limited’s (ARTML) chairman, said: “Ascott Reit is acquiring a prime site in Singapore to build a property on our own for the first time. Compared to acquiring completed properties, this investment not only allows us to have an early entry at a lower cost, enjoy development profits, but we can also expect higher yield in the long term. This development only accounts for about 3% of Ascott Reit’s total asset value, which is within the 10% regulatory limit on property development for REITs. Singapore is a safe environment for construction, and by designing and building the property ourselves with customized specifications and having it managed by our sponsor, Ascott, we can be assured of building quality and strong operating performance. After the acquisition, Ascott Reit’s gearing will be 37.2%, which is below the 45% gearing threshold, thereby offering adequate debt headroom for the funding of the acquisition.”