Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1361872
V O L . X X V I I N O. V I I I A P R I L 1 9 , 2 0 2 1 22 R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G F O C U S Caradonna of Koucar Management LLC, a Michigan-based development firm that teamed up with Shipyard, Bateman Partners LLC and others on the Cambria. Bateman Partners President David Bateman adds, "I'm a big fan of Portland and have been since the 1970s. … People forget that the city has gone through many ups and downs and rebirths, which is why the symbol of the city is the phoenix. We're on a very good tangent." Aloft's 'golden' moment For Norwich Partners, the Aloft Hotel Portland will be its third in the city. It owns the AC by Marriott, which opened in 2018, and sold the Residence Inn to an undisclosed buyer in 2017. Founded in 2003, Norwich Partners has owned equity stakes in 27 hotels around the country, and the Aloft is one of four hotels it's opening this year — and the only one out- side Florida. ough that's twice its normal amount, some openings were delayed because of the pandemic. Leatherwood, who has helped develop more than 4,000 hotel rooms with a $1 billion-plus market value, predicts that "Portland is going to have a booming summer." Lest there be any concerns about an oversup- ply of rooms, he says, "I've heard that since 2002, and it's never been true — it's a very resilient market — with this caveat: If you are truly downtown, and you are on or near Commercial Street, you're golden." Speaking by phone from Sanibel Island, Fla., Leatherwood describes the Aloft as a "hipper, younger version of the AC." While both are Marriott- owned brands, Aloft targets young families and millennials as a "very high- tech forward" brand with amenities including a robotic butler that makes deliveries to rooms. It also aims to be music-oriented, inviting local street musicians to play in the lobby. Despite a slight delay in furni- ture deliveries held up by the recent Suez Canal blockage, he's hopeful of an opening by early June. Like the AC, the Aloft will be managed by Boston-based Pyramid Hotel Group LLC for Norwich. It normally makes an exit after a few years though that's not set in stone. "Everything is for sale, but nothing is on sale," Leatherwood says, "mean- ing if we opened the doors of the Aloft Hotel today, we would sell it the » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Hotels at a glance Aloft Hotel Portland 157 rooms, 379 Commercial St. Brand affiliation: Marriott International subsidiary Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Developer: Norwich Partners LLC Hotel operator: Pyramid Hotel Group Contractors: Opechee Construction Corp. (Belmont, N.H.), Design architect: Archetype Architects Expected opening: Late May/early June 2021 Canopy Portland Waterfront 135 rooms, 9 Center St. Brand affiliation: Canopy by Hilton Developer: Fathom Cos. Hotel operator: Fathom Cos. Architect of record: Baskervill (Richmond, Va.) Expected opening: Spring 2021 Cambria Hotel Portland Old Port 102 rooms, 25 Hancock St. Brand affiliation: Cambria Hotels, a Choice Hotels International Inc. brand Developers: Bateman Partners LLC, Koucar Management (Detroit, Mich.), Donohoe Cos. Inc. (Bethesda, Md.), Shipyard Brewing Co. Hotel operator: Koucar Management Architect of record: Archtetype Architects Expected opening: Q4 2021 Aloft Hotel Portland R E N D E R I N G / A R C H E T Y P E A R C H I T E C T S Cambria Hotel Portland Old Port R E N D E R I N G / A R C H E T Y P E A R C H I T E C T S R E N D E R I N G / FAT H O M C O M PA N I E S Canopy Portland Waterfront