HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – CoralTree Hospitality has acquired a controlling interest in the Magnolia Hotels brand, which includes a historic downtown Houston property.
In partnership with its parent company Lowe, CoralTree purchased the controlling interest from Denver-based Stout Street Hospitality. CoralTree will operate four of Magnolia’s six hotels—those in Denver, Houston, St. Louis and Omaha—and will license the Magnolia name to the properties in New Orleans and Dallas.
The Magnolia brand is known for distinctive, independent hotels, many housed in buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, that appeal to both business and leisure travelers. With the addition of the six Magnolia properties, CoralTree’s U.S. portfolio grows to 22 hotels and resorts.
Magnolia Hotel Houston, a 314-room property, opened in 2003 after the adaptive reuse of the former Post Dispatch building at 1100 Texas Avenue. Originally built in 1926, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel sits across from Christ Church Cathedral, established in 1839 and one of Texas’s oldest churches.
Magnolia Hotel Denver, the brand’s first property, occupies the former American National Bank Building and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 297-room hotel, restored to reflect its original early-20th-century appearance with terra-cotta ornamentation and a replicated corner clock, opened in 1995 in the 13-story landmark constructed in 1910.
Magnolia Hotel Omaha, with 145 rooms, is situated in the heart of downtown Omaha near key attractions such as the Qwest Center, the historic Old Market, and the Orpheum Theatre. That property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
In downtown St. Louis, the 182-room Magnolia Hotel is within walking distance of the America’s Center convention complex. Originally opened as the Mayfair Hotel in 1925, the St. Louis property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Tom Luersen, president of CoralTree Hospitality, said, “Magnolia Hotels is a great complement to our mission at CoralTree to work with distinctive, independently minded properties. We look forward to expanding the brand, when appropriate, to other metropolitan markets.”
Stout Street Hospitality, a fourth-generation family business founded in 1993, has focused on revitalizing historically significant urban properties and converting them into unique independent hotels under the Magnolia Hotels brand. Going forward, Stout Street will continue to own and develop new Magnolia Hotels and will pursue asset management, management, acquisition and development opportunities. The company currently owns and asset-manages Magnolia hotels in Denver, Houston, Omaha, St. Louis and New Orleans.
“For more than four decades, my family has owned and managed hotels throughout the United States, including the Magnolia brand, which launched in 1995 with our Denver hotel,” said Sarah Holtze Treadway, president and co-CEO of Stout Street Hospitality. “It’s been a labor of love to watch the brand expand into new destinations. We are confident in CoralTree’s stewardship as they lead the brand into its next chapter, and we look forward to partnering on future opportunities.” Stout Street will continue to asset-manage its current portfolio and to develop and manage future projects.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to exert pressure on the hotel industry.
Last month, Downtown Houston’s 223-room Hotel Alessandra—closed since January amid difficult business conditions—was acquired by Host Hotels & Resorts for $65 million. The 20-story Hotel Alessandra, at 1070 Dallas Street and developed by Midway, opened in 2017. Host Hotels CEO Jim Risoleo noted that the company acquired the property opportunistically ahead of a scheduled foreclosure auction; the hotel has not yet reopened.
Sept. 12, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
For more about Texas real estate, see the book Houston 2020: America’s Boom Town – An Extreme Close Up by Ralph Bivins.
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Photo credit: Magnolia Houston photos by Ralph Bivins, Realty News Report Copyright 2021
File: Sold: Magnolia Hotels Brand. CoralTree Hospitality.