RICHMOND, Va. — An out-of-town company is working to snatch up a downtown hotel and plans to bring a new brand to the Richmond market.
Arizona-based Graduate Hotels is in the process of purchasing the DoubleTree by Hilton Richmond Downtown at 301 W. Franklin St. and will embark on a massive renovation project on the 15-story property.
The 230-room hotel is currently owned by Richmond Hotel Partners LP, an affiliate of real estate investment firm E2M Partners. The Dallas-based company purchased the 151,000-square-foot hotel in 2006 for $9.5 million.
In email obtained by BizSense, the hotel’s current owners told individuals in the local hotel market that the property is headed toward a sale.
The email said the hotel will close for business March 2, after which Graduate Hotels will begin a multimillion-dollar renovation project, with a tentative opening date set for January 2016.
An associate with E2M Partners declined to comment on the pending sale.
Ben Gottlieb, a spokesman with Graduate Hotels, said the company does not comment on pending transactions.
