Wye River Conference Center's Owner Seeks Equity Partner

QUEENSLAND, MD-The owner of the Wye River Conference Center, where Israeli and Palestinian officials negotiated a peace accord in 1998, wants a business partner to take a piece of its next deal. The nonprofit Aspen Institute wants to expand and renovate the 86-room conference center on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and is looking for an equity finance partner to bring cash or management ability to the facility. The deal could be structured as a joint venture or as a long-term leasehold for a partner willing to manage the facility.

The Denver-based group wants to add at least 100 rooms and renovate the facility’s rooms, built in three parts over the last 66 years. As a dedicated conference center with 5,446 sf of meeting space, recognized by the International Association of Conference Centers, the facility lacks new telecommunications technology. Aspen and Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, its adviser, have not named a price for the renovations or an equity investment.