WICHITA, KS— WaterWalk Hotel Apartments plans to break ground on dozens of extended-stay hotels across the nation over the next two years, and has just signed up a Rockford Development Group venture, led by Paul Roberts of Rockford and hotel industry veteran Rob Mossburg , as a franchisee. In the $150 million deal, Rockford will initially develop eight WaterWalk franchises in San Antonio, Denver, Dallas, and Austin, with construction of the first San Antonio property targeted for April of this year. WaterWalk also chose the Grand Rapids, MI-based Rockford as the preferred builder for its corporate properties and the franchise system. "We think that we will have 15 to 17 properties in the ground in 2016," Jon Wohlfert , president of WaterWalk, tells GlobeSt.com. The new company, which provides guests with comfortable apartments and hotel-like amenities and services, recently debuted the concept in its hometown of Wichita. "It's proven to be a strong performer," with guests keeping the site virtually full this month. WaterWalk was created by entrepreneur Jack DeBoer , the founder of Residence Inn , Candlewood Suites , Value Place , and co-founder, along with Mossburg and other partners, of Summerfield Suites . Guests can choose fully-furnished one-, two-, or three-bedroom apartments. Amenities offered include full-sized appliances in a modern kitchen, high-speed Internet, DirecTV with premium channels and DVR, housekeeping, fitness memberships, a communal bicycle program, local transportation, and free, customized breakfast. gym membership, concierge services, free in-room breakfast, housekeeping, and no-cost parking, among other services. The company plans to target 32 metro areas identified by The Highland Group , an Atlanta-based group that studies the extended-stay market, as having a very high demand for the WaterWalk concept, Wohlfert says. WaterWalk then did a lot due diligence to identify the proper submarkets in these areas. In Austin, for example, the company picked suburban Round Rock as the best place for a site due to its high concentration of corporate headquarters. As reported in GlobeSt.com, in 2015 WaterWalk signed a $100 million deal with UK-based investment firm Henley to develop five WaterWalk sites in Albany, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, and North Orlando, with construction slated to begin on March 16 in Fort Lauderdale. Also in 2016, WaterWalk will be breaking ground on properties in Denver, Tulsa, Raleigh, Louisville, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Chicago. The success of the Wichita location has given a tremendous boost to the company's confidence, since the other cities targeted have higher levels of demand for this kind of upscale corporate housing. "Jack always says that if we can make it work in Wichita, we can make it work in the other 32 markets," says Wohlfert.

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WaterWalk Signs $150M Franchise Deal

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