W. P. Carey & Co. LLC and Watermark Capital Partners, LLC Partner to Acquire the Doubletree Hotel Memphis Downtown
Chicago, IL – September 27, 2007 – A joint venture consisting of W. P. Carey & Co. LLC and Watermark Capital Partners, LLC has acquired the Doubletree Hotel Memphis Downtown, a leading full-service hotel located in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. The property features 280 guest units inclusive of seven suites, over 8,500 square feet of flexible meeting space, and a highly successful T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant. The Doubletree Hotel Memphis Downtown is located just steps from Beale Street, the world-famous home of the blues, three blocks from the FedEx Forum, and across the street from AutoZone Park. The dynamic neighborhood also includes such venues as The Orpheum Theater, the Gibson Guitar Factory and Museum, and the Smithsonian Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum.
The joint venture has retained Prism Hospitality, L.P. as the property manager. Prism has been the manager of the property for a number of years and in 2005, led its $8 million redevelopment. The new ownership group is making additional upgrades to the property, including adding flat panel televisions in all the guestrooms, updating the carpeting and other furnishings throughout the hotel, and renovating the boardroom, fitness and business centers.
“The Doubletree Hotel Memphis Downtown is a high quality, exceptionally well-located property. These characteristics, combined with our lodging investment experience with Watermark Capital Partners, make this acquisition consistent with our investment parameters and portfolio objectives,” said Jason E. Fox, Executive Director of W. P. Carey & Co. LLC.
“Working with W. P. Carey and Prism Hospitality, we intend to improve this already well-performing property for the benefit of its customers, its associates and the Memphis community,” said Michael G. Medzigian, Chairman of Watermark Capital Partners, LLC.
Founded in 1973, W. P. Carey & Co. LLC is a leading global provider of long-term net lease financing for companies worldwide. With over $9.6 billion in assets and $5 billion in equity capital, the Company and its CPA® series of income generating real estate funds specialize in helping companies and private equity firms realize the capital tied up in their real estate assets. The W. P. Carey Group owns more than 850 commercial and industrial properties in 14 countries, representing approximately 100 million square feet. Additional information regarding W. P. Carey is available at www.wpcarey.com.
Watermark Capital Partners, LLC is a Lake Forest, Illinois based private investment firm that specializes in real estate private equity transactions. Watermark is led by Michael G. Medzigian who has been responsible for over $13 billion of real estate investments and has an exceptional track record of integrity and for sourcing proprietary opportunities, creatively enhancing value and delivering superior risk-adjusted returns to his investors. Watermark’s primary investment focus is on assets that benefit from specialized marketing strategies and demographic shifts including hotels and resorts, golf and recreation, resort residential, fractional and club programs, and mixed-use projects. Additional information regarding Watermark is available at www.watermarkcap.com.
Dallas-based Prism Hotels & Resorts is one of the fastest growing full-service hotel investment, management and development companies in the United States. The company currently manages more than 5,000 rooms for multiple owners in 11 states and the Caribbean. For more information, please visit www.prismhotels.com.
