MCity completes sale of former Clarion Hotel property

Hampton Inn Green Bay Downtown
Green Bay completed the sale of the former Clarion Hotel property Thursday, beating a deadline for the sale by a day.

The hotel, on the east bank of the Fox River and adjacent to the KI Convention Center, was sold to Fox River Hospitality LLC for $2.7 million. An affiliated entity, American Hospitality Management, will operate the hotel, which is in the early stages of renovation. It will reopen as a Hampton Inn.

The city purchased the property, 200 Main St., out of receivership in March 2013 to protect plans for expanding the KI Convention Center and connecting to the hotel. It was known as Holiday Inn-City Centre for many years before switching to the Clarion brand.

Three months after the purchase, city officials announced they would sell the 146-room hotel to American Hospitality Management, which already was managing the hotel and pledged full cooperation with the convention center project. Based in Cheboygan, Mich., the company operates 22 hotels and has an ownership stake in about 12 hotels.

When American Hospitality/Fox River Hospitality did not secure a conventional loan as soon as expected, the city entered into a land contract for the sale. The deadline for completing a conventional sale was Friday.

"This is the perfect hotel type to complement the KI Convention Center, Hyatt and Northland Hotel," Mayor Jim Schmitt said in a release confirming the sale. "The renovated hotel will serve the business traveler as well as tourists with Hampton quality and service."

Craig Bonter, director of business development for American Hospitality, said renovation is scheduled for completion concurrent with the opening of the KI expansion.

"It is in the early stages, but once it gets going it will move pretty fast," he said.

The remodeled version will be 135 rooms instead of 146. Rooms will be gutted and brought up to Hampton Inn standards, Bonter said. It will include a complementary breakfast bar, business center, meeting room, indoor swimming pool and fitness center. It also will offer 11,000 square feet adjacent to the hotel for a tenant to operate a restaurant.

Reported by:  Greenbaypressgazette.com