The building boom kicking up dust in downtown Cleveland soon will give visitors to the Medical Mart, Convention Center and Horseshoe Casino, among other downtown attractions, another spot to lay their heads after a night out on the town. Optima Ventures and Sage Hospitality have purchased the former Crowne Plaza Cleveland City Centre hotel and plan to spend $64 million to renovate it into a new, luxurious 481-room Westin Hotel.

The project was spurred by an anticipated influx of visitors to downtown Cleveland, the developer said in a press release. "This is the perfect time for a four-star luxury hotel to be entering the downtown Cleveland market, and we expect to see strong occupancy from both business and leisure travelers," said Ken Geist, Executive Vice President and Partner at Sage Hospitality.

The developers plan to remodel all of the hotel rooms, meeting spaces and public spaces and add energy-efficient windows, a new roof and other exterior improvements. When the new Westin opens in July 2013, it will feature a high-end restaurant with outdoor dining space, a business center, fitness center and a spa. The hotel is expected to employ between 300 and 350 individuals.

The Cleveland International Fund, which operates a federal Eb-5 zone that permits wealthy foreign investors to expedite obtaining U.S. visas if they invest at least $500k in a project that creates jobs, has committed $36 million to the project. The Fund, which was also a critical force in the Flats East Bank project, is becoming an increasingly visible player in urban redevelopment.

The project will also likely be funded by a tax increment financing agreement with the City of Cleveland and the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority, as well as the sale of bonds. Both are still in the works and have not yet been finalized.

The developers plan to shut down the Crowne Plaza hotel in November to start construction.

Source: Sage Hospitality
Writer: Lee Chilcote