Mayor Cory Booker and Tucker Development announced plans to develop a mixed-use hotel and retail project under the Courtyard by Marriott brand, next to the Prudential Center arena in Newark, marking that city’s first downtown hotel project in 38 years.
Marriott International will manage the 150-room hotel, while Tucker, based in Highland Park, Ill., will manage the project’s 15,000-square-foot retail space. The project is being done in partnership with the New Jersey Devils hockey team and Robert Finvarb, a Bay Harbor Islands, Fla.-based real estate development firm that has built several Courtyard, Residence Inn and Springhill Suites properties in Florida, Arizona and other states.
Newark officials have been in talks for a downtown hotel for several years, and see the Courtyard property as a sign of renewed investor interest in the city.
[more]

From left: the Soho Grand Hotel, Tribeca Grand hotel and the Maritime Hotel are possible credit risks

The troubled hotel climate in Manhattan prompted securitized loan servicing firms to characterize five mortgages for hotels, including the Soho Grand, as potential credit risks last month. The move doubles the number of Manhattan hotels on so-called watchlists to 11. The largest loan is for a $195 million note covering both the Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand, which are both owned by Hartz Mountain Industries. The loan was put on the watchlist in part because the hotels do not generate enough cash to cover the debt service payments, its servicer report says. [more]