Touchstone Buys Aloft Hotels in Frisco and Plano

Two Marriott-branded hotels in Plano and Frisco traded hands.

Corebridge Real Estate Investors sold the Aloft Hotels in Plano and Frisco to Touchstone Hospitality Fund, a local firm headed by hotel developer Deepak Gandhi and accountant Niren Patel, public records show. The sale closed Dec. 12.

Built in 2008, the twin properties have 136 rooms apiece, according to a press release.

Touchstone Hospitality Fund secured a $20 million loan from Regent Bank for the purchase, according to public records, amounting to about $73,500 per room. The final sale price is undisclosed.

“We took this out wide with a public marketing process and ended up getting nine offers on the assets,” said Kami Burnette, senior vice president of Hunter Hotel Advisors, which brokered the sale. “We ended up selecting a buyer who’s local to the DFW Metroplex, and we felt pretty comfortable with his ability to execute.”

Plano and Frisco, northern suburbs of Dallas, are business magnets. Chobani, Toyota, CohnReznick, Sally Beauty are just a few of many companies that have recently put down roots in Collin County. Several of these, including CohnReznick, are relocating from Downtown Dallas.

The buyers were also attracted to sports venues near the properties, according to the release. The biggest is The Star in Frisco, the training site and headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys. A PGA-branded Omni hotel and resort also operates in Frisco. Plano may also become the home of the Dallas Stars, nor is it off the table for the Mavs.

“[Ghandi] sees future upside in Dallas, inclusive of next year’s World Cup and some of the demand that’s going to come from that,” Burnette said.

North Texas has the nation’s largest hotel construction pipeline, according to Lodging Econometrics, which recorded over 24,000 rooms either planned or in development in the Dallas area this summer. World Cup attendees will require an estimated 150,000 rooms during the semifinals in July.

Corebridge acquired both hotels in 2015 for an undisclosed price.