The acquisition price of the resort, which includes 32,000 sf of retail fronting Highway 101, is confidential until the transaction is complete, but local sources say Wyse will be acquiring the property for less than Lend Lease paid in 1996, which was about $27 million. Wyse President Greg Close tells GlobeSt.com that another $5.5 million will be spent on upgrading the facilities, including refurbished rooms wired with current technology, a new day spa and new greens on the golf course.
"It's an irreplaceable asset that in the past has operated extraordinarily successfully," Close tells GlobeSt.com. "It's a solid business decision, but it's also a wonderful opportunity to bring a key landmark amenity back to Oregonians and Northwesterners."
Wyse Investment has invested $200 million in the past 10 years on behalf of individuals and pension funds. The firm also manages some 1.5 million sf for private individuals and originates loans on behalf of its pension fund clients, which include Les Schwab and Stoel Rives.
Close tells GlobeSt.com that if all goes as planned the purchase rights for Salishan ultimately will be transferred to Wyse's second limited partnership, Wisco Real Estate Equity Fund II. Earlier this year, Wyse's first LP paid $12.7 million for One Embassy Centre, an 86,676-sf, class A office building located at 9020 SW Washington Square Rd. in Tigard, Ore.
After tying up One Embassy Center with an investor contingency, the Portland, Ore.-based firm raised $5.7 million in three and a half weeks from 21 investors, principally local, and financed the rest. Although Close isn't saying specifically, the firm likely hopes to do exactly the same with Salishan.
Salishan currently carries the Westin name, but that would go away after the acquisition. The plan is to have the facility managed by Grayco LLC, an entity created by John Gray, the original developer of Salishan and Skamania Lodge in Vancouver, Wash. Gray sold both lodges to Lend Lease at the same time for $60 million, and Grayco is now owned and operated by Gray's former chief financial officers, Craig Smith and Suzanne McNally.
Assuming all goes as planned, the refurbished Salishan will harken back to the original Salishan in a few other ways as well. Close tells GlobeSt.com that the original Sunroom café--a community gathering spot before being replaced with a gift shop--will be recreated and the gift shop relocated. As well, Close says Grayco already has lined up a pretty impressive management team. "We can't name them yet because they have other jobs, but they are big names" says Close.
Finally, says Close, it's also a bit of a coming home for Bill Wyse, Wyse Investment's chairman of the board. Before starting Wyse Investment, he was with the Stoel Rives law firm, wherein he did all the legal work for John Gray that allowed for the development of Salishan and Skamania.
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