"Bill Hull believes in the project and kept 25% of the ownership entity," Effler tells GlobeSt.com. "He is the original developer of the hotels and had some passive investors out of Florida that were looking to exit for estate planning purposes."
The location of the property, as the main hospitality exit in Rocky Mount one mile from a spot on Interstate 95 that is equidistant between New York and Florida, played a big part in RockBridge's interest, according to Effler. "What we really like is these hotels serve distinct markets from a hotel traveler perspective," he says.
For example, the 78-room Residence Inn caters to the extended-stay traveler, the 90-room Courtyard caters to the business traveler and the 125-room Comfort Inn caters to the budget-minded traveler. The 166-room Doubletree, which was recently underwent a $6.5-million conversion from a Holiday Inn, will cater those searching for a high-quality, full-service hotel.
"There's also some solid corporate demand generators that provide stability to the market," Effler adds. Companies with a nearby presence include RBC Centura, Hospira, Honeywell, QVC, Boddie Noell Enterprises, Embarq, MBM Corp. and Consolidated Diesel Co.
The deal is an atypical one for RockBridge in that the portfolio includes office/retail property, Effler says. Tenants in the space, known as Gateway Center, include the Nash County Tourism Center and doctors who are affiliated with Nash General Hospital across the street from the property.
Some of the flex office/retail is also being used as meeting space for the Doubletree hotel. There is currently 9,000-sf of vacant space at the property, but RockBridge anticipates to have the portfolio fully leased or stabilized within the next six to nine months.
Currently the company has no specific plans for developing the vacant land parcel. Atlanta-based Hospitality Ventures is set to manage the hotel component of the portfolio.
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