Trinity Real Estate Buys 50% Stake in Omni San Diego Hotel
JMI Realty, the original developer, will retain a 50% interest in the 511-room property.
A fund affiliated with Trinity Real Estate Investments has acquired a 50% interest in the Omni San Diego Hotel from JMI Realty, the original developer. JMI will retain a 50% interest in the property and will continue to serve as the manager. Located in the Gaslamp Quarter, the property has 511 rooms and 13,000 square feet of fully leased retail space.
Trinity plans to partner with Omni to make strategic property improvements that will drive revenue, with Sean Hehir, managing partner, president and CEO of Trinity, saying that the company has already identified several opportunities to transform the property into “premier destination in the market for business and leisure travel.” The plan includes a multimillion-dollar capital improvement program to upgrade the guestrooms, the food and beverage offerings and the hotel’s rooftop pool deck and fitness center.
The San Diego is well positioned for a hotel boom. The market was already a popular drive-to destination, and the pandemic only fueled the market’s appeal. There is also significant redevelopment in the area with new office and life science development, which will also help to drive demand. As a result, Trinity plans to use the renovation plan to capture higher-rated transient and group business.
This is one of several notable hotel deals this year in San Diego. A partnership between Kawa Capital Management and CL Hotels acquired Hotel La Jolla in San Diego. The property has 11 stories and 110 guestrooms and is operated by Curio Collection Hilton, which renewed its lease for 20 years. The sales price was not disclosed.
Earlier this month, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust acquired the AAA Four Diamond 210-room Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa for $108 million, and has retained Noble House Hotels & Resorts to manage the property. Pebblebrook funded the acquisition $46 million of cash on hand, and it assumed a $62 million of existing non-recourse, secured debt, which matures in September 2028.
Other owners are also making property improvements to capture demand. Lowe and Atlas Hotels have opened the doors of the 40-acre, 675-room Town & Country San Diego resort. The multi-million dollar project transformed the property into a mid-century modern mixed-use property. The project has been several years in the making and was designed to appeal to a large swath of travelers, including leisure, business and convention visitors.