Where World Champion Astros Will Stay: Jim Crane Developing Florida Hotel

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Construction is now underway at the vacant 10-story office tower in West Palm Beach that will be converted into a residence for the Houston Astros players and staff during spring training and a baseball-themed hotel open to the public the rest of the year.

The redevelopment will convert one of the three identical office buildings along Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard—collectively known as The Forum—into a 191-room Hilton Garden Inn-branded hotel. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler arranged $18.72 million in construction and redevelopment financing for the project.

Building A, the westernmost structure at the corner of Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and Congress Avenue, “has been substantially gutted,” said Scott Wadler, a senior director at HFF and a member of the debt placement team. With loan approval in hand, construction will proceed to the next phase shortly, he added.

The HFF team represented the borrower, a partnership between Crane Capital Group, Inc. and Westmont Hospitality Group, to place a three-year fixed-rate loan with Woodforest National Bank. Proceeds will fund the conversion of the office tower into a combined hotel and player/staff residence. Westmont Hospitality Group will manage the hotel, which is expected to open in mid-2018.

The renovated 10-story building will offer amenities such as an on-site restaurant, pool and gym.

Straticon Construction, a family-owned contractor with offices in Stuart and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and New York City, is handling the reconstruction work.

Wadler, along with analyst Wesley Hightower, said that during the 2018 Grapefruit League season beginning Feb. 23, team members and Astros staff will continue to stay at hotels across the area much as they did during the club’s inaugural spring training season at the new ballpark.

Crane Capital Group, Inc., an investment management company founded in 2006 by Jim Crane—CEO and chairman of Crane Worldwide and owner and president of the Houston Astros—acquired the vacant Forum office tower on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard in early 2017. Crane Capital invests across a variety of service-focused industries and provides investment advisory services; Wadler noted the firm does not frequently engage in real estate transactions.

The property sits about a half-mile east of a major Interstate 95 interchange on a highly commercialized stretch that includes other hotels, gas stations, office buildings and a large Target store across the street. The hotel site is also adjacent to the Palm Beach Outlet Mall, a 440,000-square-foot outlet shopping center opened in February 2014 on the site of the former enclosed Palm Beach Mall.

The site is five miles from the new $150 million Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, the state-of-the-art spring training facility used by the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals for Grapefruit League play.

“Jim Crane and the entire Houston Astros organization are looking forward to deepening our involvement in West Palm Beach,” said Astros SVP and General Counsel Giles Kibbe. “After a successful inaugural season at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, we have been excited to explore new opportunities in the area. This new hotel will bring the excitement of the 2017 World Series Championship to Florida, serve as an excellent home for our players and staff during spring training and will be enjoyed by the public throughout the year.”

The Astros, who won the 2017 World Series, trace their history back to 1962 when they debuted as the Houston Colt .45s at Colt Stadium. The club became the Houston Astros in 1965 and will enter its 57th Major League Baseball season following the franchise’s first World Series title. In 2013, the team moved from the National League to the American League West Division. The club’s regular-season home is Minute Maid Park in Houston.

Officials at the ballpark hope to build on the momentum of Houston’s 2017 championship. Spring training opens Feb. 23 with an afternoon game between the Astros and the Washington Nationals, who share the facility.

Local media are already promoting season events, including an Astros vs. Boston Red Sox game scheduled at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on March 1.

Feb. 14, 2018 Realty News Report Copyright 2018