Summit expands local hotel holdings

Summit Hotel Properties Inc. said Thursday it has closed on the previously announced purchase of two Twin Cities hotels: The 93-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Minnetonka and the 97-room Hilton Garden Inn in Eden Prairie.

Summit Hotel (NYSE: INN), an Austin, Texas-based publicly traded real estate investment trust focused primarily mid-market and upscale hotels, said it purchased the properties for a total of $17.1 million. A report in Finance & Commerce has some additional details from county records: Summit paid  $10.2 million for the Hilton Garden and $6.9 million for the Holiday Inn Express.

The company also said it closed on the purchase of four other hotels: two in Louisville, Ky., and two in Indianapolis.

"These six hotels are very well positioned amid multiple demand generators in their respective markets," said Dan Hansen, Summit Hotels president and CEO. "We are excited about the opportunity to extend our nationwide reach into the Indianapolis and Louisville markets as well as grow our presence in Minneapolis."

Summit isn't done with Minneapolis deals: It plans to buy what it now a 216-room Comfort Suites hotel in downtown Minneapolis after Hyatt Hotels Corp. (which bought the property last year) finishes a $20 million conversion of the property into a Hyatt Place. Hyatt will continue to manage the property.

In a recent earnings call with analysts, Summit Chief Financial Officer Stuart Becker said that deal was still on track and is expected to close in the third quarter.

Reported by:  Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal