Prudential lists 2 O’Hare area hotels

The buildings could fetch the highest price for hotels near the airport in three years

DoubleTree Rosemont at 5500 North River Road (Credit: Hilton)
DoubleTree Rosemont at 5500 North River Road (Credit: Hilton)

The real estate investment arm of Prudential Insurance is seeking to cash out of the extremely hot O’Hare real estate market by listing two Rosemont hotels.

New Jersey-based Prudential has hired Chicago brokerage HFF to sell the DoubleTree Rosemont and Embassy Suites Rosemont in what could be the biggest hotel deal in the area in three years, according to a report in Crain’s.

Prudential paid $61.3 million for the land lease on the DoubleTree’s property in 2007, and the Embassy Suites was bought by the group for $38.9 million in 2000. The 294-room Embassy Suites, 5500 North River Road, received a $10.5 million upgrade last year, and the 369-room Double Tree at 5460 North River Road is in need of one.

The real estate and hotel business in the area has only grown since those purchases. Revenue per available O’Hare area hotel rooms was up 6 percent year-over-year in July, according to Crain’s.

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O’Hare Airport will also undergo an $8.5 billion rebuild that will lure an additional 20 million passengers per year, according to the city. And there are already more workers in the area to serve: Vacancy rates at O’Hare office complexes is at its lowest rate in 15 years.

In March, a venture of a Hong Kong-based Junson Capital paid $37 million for the Rosemont Hilton as part of a $650 million portfolio sales that included office, hotel and residential assets scattered across the suburbs.

If the DoubleTree sells for at least the $61.3 million Prudential paid in 2007, then it will be the biggest deal since the Westin O’Hare old for $82 million in 2015. [Crain’s] — Joe Ward