HRIL in the News

CAREY WATERMARK INVESTORS ACQUIRES HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS HOTEL
Marks CWI's second lodging investment

New York - September 7, 2011.

Carey Watermark Investors Incorporated (CWI) announced today that it has closed on a joint venture investment of approximately $45.7 million in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans with HRI Properties, the original hotel owner and a strategic joint venture partner with a robust real‐estate presence in the area.  CWI's investment is approximately $30.6 million including its allocated portion of first mortgage debt.  The property, the Chateau Bourbon Hotel, was built in 1849 as the D. H. Holmes department store and was later converted to a hotel in 1995 by HRI Properties. The hotel also includes approximately 20,000 square feet of leased commercial space and an adjacent 300-stall parking garage.  With CWI's acquisition, the hotel will undergo a complete renovation and repositioning including the creation of new modern food and beverage concepts and an increase in its room count to a total of 254.  Upon completion of the renovation, expected to be in the second quarter of 2012, the property will be renamed the Hyatt French Quarter hotel, through a franchise agreement with an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. An affiliate of HRI will continue to manage the property.

Located at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Canal Street, the hotel is in a prime location for visiting tourists and business travelers alike. Many of the area's attractions are within easy reach, including the Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans Convention Center, Harrah's Casino, and The Port of New Orleans - an access point for popular cruise lines, such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean.  Furthermore, the hotel boasts the largest average guestroom size in the French Quarter as well as 12-foot ceiling heights, and provides convenient driving access and guest drop-off, a common limitation throughout the French Quarter.

Commenting on the investment, Michael Medzigian, Chief Executive Officer of CWI, said, "As CWI's second transaction, this is another excellent example of how we can effectively enter into joint ventures  to leverage our hospitality industry and asset management expertise.  We found the Chateau Bourbon Hotel to be ideal for ownership and renovation as it is a landmark property that is ideally located in one of the strongest tourism markets in the country, and our joint investment with HRI will be at substantially below the hotel's replacement value, allowing us to capitalize on the property's full market potential. We look forward to working with HRI Properties to achieve our mutual investment goals and to increase the contribution the property can make to the New Orleans economy."

Trevor Bond, Chairman of the Board of CWI and President and Chief Executive Officer of W. P. Carey & Co. LLC, noted, "The closing of our second hotel investment on behalf of CWI validates our approach of providing a solid capitalization for properties with significant value add opportunities and upside potential.  Structuring investments in the hospitality sector that meet our investment objectives while providing attractive incentives to our local partners distinguishes us from other investors in the sector and gives us access to properties that might not be available otherwise.  The joint venture with HRI Properties aligns our goals of long-term growth in value and generation of attractive risk adjusted returns for our investors with those of a highly regarded management company active in the local community."

"We are proud to be affiliated with the Hyatt family of hotels. The Hyatt brand is synonymous with the highest level of quality and service, exactly the standards we expect to achieve at HRI Lodging," said Gary Gutierrez, HRI Lodging president.

Carey Watermark Investors.

Carey Watermark Investors Incorporated is a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that was formed to make investments primarily in the lodging and lodging-related sectors. Affiliates of W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC) and Watermark Capital Partners, LLC advise the REIT and manage its overall portfolio. www.careywatermark.com

HRI Properties.

HRI Properties is a New Orleans based full-service real estate development company and a national leader in the adaptive reuse of historic structures. HRI has completed over 50 large scale projects, 30 in New Orleans, including 4,500 apartment units, 3,500 hotel rooms, and 500,000 SF of office and retail space. www.hriproperties.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under federal securities laws and the company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provisions created thereby. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement and Carey Watermark Investors Incorporated and its related and affiliated companies assume no, and hereby disclaim any, obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained herein. This caution is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

HOTEL NEW ORLEANS, WILL REFLAG AS FIRST HYATT PLACE IN NEW ORLEANS: New owner will launch major renovation this summer

NEW ORLEANS, LA (September 29, 2011)

Larry Daniels, who has worked with Hyatt for more than 25 years, has been named general manager of the Chateau Bourbon New Orleans Hotel, announced Gary Gutierrez, president of HRI Lodging, operator of the hotel.
Click here to read more...

New Orleans, LA (July 18, 2011).

Hotel New Orleans Holdings, LLC a joint venture between affiliates of HRI Properties and Interwest Capital Corporation, has purchased the Hotel New Orleans located across the street from the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center and under a franchise agreement with an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, will rename the property Hyatt Place New Orleans Convention Center, announced Gary Gutierrez, president of HRI Lodging, Inc. FBR Capital Markets acted as exclusive advisor to HRI Properties on the transaction.
Click here to read more...

Jackson, MS (May 31, 2011).

Marlene Macaluso, who has served since last year as general manager of Hilton Garden Inn French Quarter/Central Business District in New Orleans, has been appointed to the same position at the Hilton Garden Inn Jackson Downtown in the historic King Edward building, announced Gary Gutierrez, president of HRI Lodging, an affiliate of HRI Properties (HRI), the lead developer and majority owner of the King Edward.
Click here to read more...

About HRI Properties.

Based in New Orleans, HRI Properties (HRI) is a full-service real estate development company and a national leader in the adaptive reuse of historic structures. HRI's mission is revitalizing cities by creating diverse, vibrant, sustainable communities. For more information, go to www.hriproperties.com.

HRI Lodging owns and operates hotel properties in New Orleans, LA; Shreveport, LA; Jackson, MS and Richmond, VA. HRI hotels include restoration of the D.H. Holmes department store in New Orleans into the Chateau Bourbon Hotel; the King Edward Hotel in Jackson and the Miller & Rhoads department store in Richmond, both of which fly the Hilton Garden Inn flag.

HRI'S KING EDWARD WINS TWO MORE AWARDS.

New Orleans, LA (MultifamilyBiz.com) 11/2/2010McGraw-Hill's South Central Construction gives Judges Award and Best in Category to apartment/hotel complex transforming Jacksn's downtown

NEW ORLEANS, LA (November 1, 2010)

- Downtown Jackson's King Edward hotel and apartment complex, restored after standing vacant for more than 40 years, has earned two more industry awards in addition to the National Trust 's Preservation Honor Award announced earlier in October.

South Central Construction magazine, a McGraw Hill Construction publication, recently announced it has given its top regional award to the King Edward, one of only two developments in the region to gain the honor. The King Edward was also honored as Best In Category for Best Specialty Project by the magazine.

HRI Properties of New Orleans is majority owner and primary developer of the complex, working with local Jackson partners Watkins Development and former NFL star Deuce McAllister. Clayco of St. Louis was the prime contractor on the project.

According to the blog by Sam Barnes, editor of the magazine, "…the panel unanimously agreed that the restored King Edward Hotel in Jackson, Miss., was the best overall in construction…"

McGraw Hill's South Central Region encompasses Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. The awards will be presented at the McGraw Hill Construction luncheon scheduled in Memphis,
TN on December 9.

As a double category winner, the King Edward development will be entered into the National Best of 2010 competition to be judged against winners from other regions.

The historic King Edward was renovated into a 186-room Hilton Garden Inn Jackson Downtown hotel and 64 apartments on the upper floors to create the first urban center residence in Jackson. Parking for 187 vehicles is also included in another adjacent historic structure. A Seattle's Best Coffee café opened in January on the street level of the hotel.

The hotel can accommodate a variety of business and social groups with more than 7,000 square foot of meeting space, which includes the restoration of the historic grand ballroom. Many of the elements of the hotel have been intricately restored back to their original grandeur including the rotunda, pre-function spaces and its neo-classical exterior, which was a famed Jackson landmark since the building was opened in 1923.

The 64 apartment units feature granite counter-tops, hardwood floors, color-coordinated appliances (microwave, range, dishwasher and refrigerator), ceiling fans, full-size washers and dryers in every unit and high speed internet access. The apartments are managed as a single unit with the adjacent 76-unit Standard Life Flats developed by the same team and opened in September.

Clayco is one of the nation's largest, privately owned real estate, architecture and engineering, design/build and construction firms. Clayco is a full-service real estate development, design and construction firm providing design-build project delivery nationwide for corporate, government, industrial, institutional, residential markets, and banking institutions.

About HRI Properties.

Based in New Orleans with offices in St. Louis, Missouri, HRI Properties (HRI) is a full-service real estate development company and a national leader in the adaptive reuse of historic structures. HRI's mission is revitalizing cities by creating diverse, vibrant, sustainable communities. HRI has completed 50 large-scale projects, including 4,496 apartment units, 3,487 hotel rooms and more than 500,000 square feet of office and retail space, with a total funding value of $1.4 billion. For more information, go to www.hriproperties.com.

Link to Article: http://www.multifamilybiz.com/pressrelease.aspx?id=476

DEVELOPER ENVISIONS DOWNTOWN COMPLEX

Developers tapped to recreate the Iberville public housing complex say they can also build a retail development nearby that could rival Lakeside Shopping Center.
Click here to read more...