Although the hotel is currently managed by DoubleTree, it is not identified as either a DoubleTree or Hilton brand. Its contemporary architecture and high-tech amenities were designed specifically to complement the MIT campus and the area's clientele. MIT will continue to own the land. The adjacent Star Market and parking garage are not included in the transaction.
The price of the hotel buy is undisclosed. According to Cambridge public records, the assessed value of 20 Sidney St. is $42.7 million. The deal is expected to close by year-end, and, because it has not yet closed, a Forest City spokesman declines to provide GlobeSt.com with any information beyond what is contained in a press release issued by University Park Phase II LP, the MIT/Forest City joint venture. HEI declined to comment.
However, in the release, Steve Mendell, HEI's EVP of acquisitions and development, says, "this is our first property in the Boston/Cambridge market, which has extraordinarily high barriers to new competition. With its close proximity to MIT, the hotel is one of the city's premier hospitality assets, and we look forward to building on the hotel's past successes."
Michael Fahey, SVP of asset management for Forest City Commercial Group, says in the statement, "we are confident that HEI will uphold the quality and high-tech standards at Hotel@MIT that academics, students, business people, travelers and the biotech community have come to expect since its inception." Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels brokered the sale. A call to JLL Hotels was not returned by deadline.
University Park at MIT encompasses 2.3 million sf, including 513 residential units and 10 research and office buildings. Among the office tenants are the corporate headquarters of Millennium Pharmaceuticals and the Novartis diagnostics and vaccines division along with Alkermes Inc. and Partners HealthCare System.
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