Growing Hospitality Company Acquires Historic French Quarter Property
SVN | Urban Properties Assists in the Acquisition of K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen Building
New Orleans (July 5, 2022) – SVN | Urban Properties, a New Orleans-based commercial brokerage, property management and development firm, represented the buyer of the French Quarter building that housed the historic K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen at 416 Chartres Street.
Tyler Robinson, a founding Partner at SVN | Urban, assisted the buyer, Robert Thompson, in the most recent acquisition for his hospitality company, Angevin & Co. “Working with Robert on another strategic acquisition for his hospitality company has been so rewarding,” said Robinson. “It gives me such a sense of accomplishment to assist him in building his brand and growing his footprint in the New Orleans hospitality industry.”
This acquisition represents another great opportunity for Thompson to put his food and beverage expertise to work in New Orleans, following recent acquisitions of The Frenchmen and Whitney Hotels. “French Quarter Boulangerie,” an all-day breakfast, lunch and bakery restaurant is scheduled to open in the second half of 2023.
The all-day café will offer pastries, croissants, breads, desserts, and coffee to go, along with wine, beer and cocktails. The 12,000 square-foot space will be “a thoughtfully imagined space with food hall style counter service and a focus on fresh baked breads, pastries and iconic southern and classic French dishes influenced by the history of the French Quarter.”
“SVN | Urban Properties assisted with site selection within the French Quarter for an ideal space to expand on my food and beverage background,” said Thompson. “When the iconic K-Paul’s space came to market, I felt like it was a big undertaking, but also something that was important to pursue for the City. This historic property is worthy of new life and I know my team and I will evolve it in a way that honors its past while modernizing it for locals and tourists alike.”
Robinson also represented Thompson / Angevin & Co. in two other recent hospitality acquisitions. “The team at SVN | Urban really understands the market both- from a real estate investment standpoint and a location, customer-centric point of view. They take a holistic approach when it comes to client service in terms of being strategic in site selection, market location and developing relationships,” said Thompson.
“Working with clients like Robert is invigorating - his love for New Orleans and his energy and enthusiasm for his respective visions is admirable,” said Robinson. “It is an honor to be his local real estate advisor, we are cut from the same cloth in a lot of ways. I don’t see him slowing down any time soon.”
About Angevin & Co.
Angevin & Co. is focused on providing creatively inspired, neighborhood-centric hospitality experiences where our lobbies, bars and restaurants are the beating heart of our hotels. Led by hospitality industry veteran, Robert Thompson, Angevin & Co. develops the concepts and operates boutique hotels and their bars, cafes and full-service restaurants across the country, spanning from the Rocky Mountains to the southern U.S., and based in New Orleans, LA.
$822M Texas transaction includes 2 New Orleans hotels
Texas real estate investment company Summit Hotel Properties is adding two downtown New Orleans hotels to its growing portfolio.
The publicly-traded company, based in Austin, has acquired a dual-branded Marriott hotel located at 1600 Canal St. in a building that previously housed offices for the University of New Orleans. The company also plans to purchase a Canopy by Hilton that is expected to open this year in the former Oil & Gas Building at 1100 Tulane Ave.
The Canal Street hotel sold for $31 million earlier in January, according to Orleans Parish conveyance records. The 13-story building reopened as a hotel in 2018 after undergoing top-to-bottom renovations.
A 74-room SpringHill Suites occupies floors two through six, and a 105-room TownPlace Suites extended-stay property is on floors seven through 13. The two brands, both operated by Marriott International, share amenities including a single lobby, registration desk, breakfast area and ground-floor bar. Both are managed and operated by the same entity and staff.
A notable feature of the property, built in the 1960s, is its rooftop, which was transformed into a multi-use area overlooking Canal Street and the Caesars Superdome with an outdoor bar, exercise room and guest laundry area.
Documents filed with the city show a construction value of $15.86 million for the roughly 131,000-square-foot renovation. The purchase was recorded on Jan. 14.
“The announcement reinforces our optimism about the outlook for our business and validates our unique ability to source and pursue a broad range of capital alternatives and external growth opportunities given our strong liquidity profile, well-positioned balance sheet and overall resilient portfolio,” said Jonathan Stanner, Summit Hotel Properties’ president and CEO, in a statement.
The seller is Dallas-based hotel developer NewcrestImage, and the purchase was part of a much larger acquisition by Summit Hotel Properties of properties in NewcrestImage’s portfolio. The initial closing included 26 of the 27 hotels held by NewcrestImage, totaling 3,533 guestrooms, two parking structures and other financial incentives.
The remaining hotel to be acquired by Summit is the Canopy by Hilton when it opens in the former Oil & Gas Building. The company expects to close on the transaction in the first quarter of this year, according to a news release. The 176-room hotel will have a Cajun/Cantonese restaurant named Ginger Roux, helmed by chef Jonathan Hostetler. A meeting space with a terrace balcony was also in the development plans.
The acquisitions total $822 million and will make NewcrestImage one of the largest shareholders of Summit Hotel Properties. The dual-branded Marriott hotel and Canopy by Hilton are the only New Orleans-area hotels that are part of the purchase.
The acquisitions bring Summit’s total number of properties to 101 in multiple states. Summit also owns three other Marriott hotels in downtown New Orleans and two in Metairie that were purchased for $135 million in 2013.
The transaction follows a string of high-profile purchases in New Orleans over the past six months.
New Orleans hotelier Joe Jaeger sold the 220-room Bourbon Orleans at the corner of Bourbon and Orleans streets in July to Maryland-based investment firm DiamondRock Hospitality Company for $81 million. Jaeger sold the Whitney Hotel at 610 Poydras St. to Mississippi native Robert Thompson in December for $16.9 million. Thompson also acquired the Frenchmen Hotel for an undisclosed sum in June.
Tyler Robinson, an agent with New Orleans commercial real estate firm SVN | Urban Properties, represented Thompson in both deals. He said it’s not uncommon for owners and operators to sell a hotel property, like the dual-branded hotel, a few years after being placed into service, but Hurricane Ida slowed these deals.
Robinson said he’s seen occupancy rates for leisure travel rise in the city even with some COVID-19 mandates still in place. Leisure travel, he said, rebounds quicker after economic downturns, and he expects business travel to increase later in 2022.
“That does not go unnoticed by all the investors out there,” he said “I think the hospitality sector will stay robust, and we will see this trajectory continue this year and into next year.”
Frenchmen Hotel to reopen in February
By: Andrew Valenti, Reporter January 21, 2022
The renovated Frenchmen Hotel is set to reopen soon.
Its new owner, Robert Thompson, confirmed the 27-room hotel has scheduled a grand opening on Feb. 1 after undergoing six months of renovations. The property at 417 Frenchmen St. is at the foot of the thoroughfare near Esplanade Avenue and not far from the various music clubs that have reopened since the COVID-19 pandemic shut them nearly two years ago.
Thompson, a Mississippi native who moved to New Orleans last year to be closer to his business ventures, purchased the hotel last year and said his development team spent $4.5 million on rehabilitation. Some of the changes include new bathrooms and vintage décor and designs in the hotel rooms, new plaster and motorized equipment for the pool and a fresh coat of paint on the interior and exterior of the property.
The 27-room count includes four suites. While there were no structural changes to the rooms’ configurations, Thompson said the number of beds at the property has increased, with an additional bed in each suite.
The Frenchmen Hotel
Opening February 2022
The biggest changes guests will see are a reworked and renovated rooftop bar, along with the hotel’s new bar on the ground floor, Midnight Revival, that offer traditional cocktails such as a Mai Tai and a Sazerac as well as drinks unique to the space.
Thompson said the Midnight Revival will also function as a live entertainment space that could host up to 300 people.
“We want to keep the authenticity and consistency that makes Frenchmen Street so special in the eyes of locals and the tourists that know about it,” he said.
Tyler Robinson, an agent with SVN | Urban Properties who represented Thompson in the Frenchmen Hotel transaction, said the reimagined property will play well with the thoroughfare’s mainstays such as The Maison, Snug Harbor and d.b.a while offering something slightly different.
The Frenchmen Hotel’s music venue will include a covered outdoor area with a craft cocktail menu that not many nearby businesses have.
The majority of music and entertainment venues on Frenchmen Street have reopened, and “The feeling I get is that there’s a beginning of a revival on Frenchmen Street,” he said.
The development was expected to open in the fourth quarter of last year, but Hurricane Ida caused labor shortages and material delays that put the project behind schedule by a month.
The property was built in 1860 as a set of cottages and spent some time as a bordello before becoming a hotel. Thompson purchased the property on June 3 through his company, Angevin & Co., from local developer Zach Kupperman.
A 25-year veteran of the hospitality industry who created the now-defunct Punch Bowl Social in Denver, Colorado, Thompson’s acquisition of the Frenchmen Hotel was the first in his expanding New Orleans portfolio.
Along with Cleveland-based historic redevelopment firm GBX Group, he acquired the Whitney Hotel at 610 Poydras St. in December for $16.9 million from New Orleans hotelier Joe Jaeger. Thompson said the development team will partner with Denver-based FAM Design on renovating the hotel and add a restaurant, a craft cocktail bar and a flower shop.
Robert Thompson Buys the Whitney Hotel from Joe Jaeger
NEW ORLEANS – Entrepreneur Robert Thompson’s hospitality firm Angevin & Co. has partnered with Cleveland-based real estate investment company GBX Group to purchase the Whitney Hotel from hotelier Joe Jaeger for $16.9 million.
Thompson, creator of the Punch Bowl Social “eatertainment” concept, moved to New Orleans in early 2021. He purchased the Frenchmen Hotel (417 Frenchmen St.) in June.
With the acquisition of the Whitney Hotel, located at 610 Poydras Street in the Central Business District, Thompson said he has established “gateways” to the French Quarter from two sides.
“It is a privilege to honor the legacy of the Whitney Hotel by preserving its history while reimagining its future,” said Thompson in a press release. “We’re going to bring new energy to this legendary property, reimagining experiences. This means opening the first on-site restaurant in the property’s history – a vegetable-forward, Southern restaurant – as well as a thoughtful cocktail bar that transitions from afternoon happy hour to late-night last calls.”
The Whitney Hotel building was originally constructed as a bank. Now registered as a National Historic Landmark, the former Whitney Wyndham has 93 guest rooms, 24 suites and 30-foot lobby ceilings. Jaeger bought it from developer Paul Flower in 2014 for $10.4 million. Angevin & Co. will work with design partners FAM Design to make “top-to-bottom” renovations and updates.
“When Robert articulated his vision for the Whitney, I knew the property would be in great hands,” said Jaeger, who has sold several of his New Orleans hotels since the start of the pandemic. “Robert is looking at both the Whitney, and the city, with fresh eyes, and the ideas he’s bringing to the forefront will have a positive and lasting impact on the hospitality and tourism industry in New Orleans.”
GBX specializes in preserving and operating historic real estate in urban markets. The Whitney Hotel is anticipated to re-open to guests in early 2023. Tyler Robinson at SVN | Urban Properties represented Angevin & Co. on the transaction.
Categories: Hospitality, Real Estate, Today’s Business News
SVN | Urban Properties Assists in the Acquisition of Historic Marigny Boutique Hotel
As Tourism Picks Back Up, So Does Commercial Real Estate
New Orleans (June 21, 2021) – SVN | Urban Properties, a New Orleans-based commercial brokerage, property management and development firm, represented the buyer of a historic boutique hotel, The Frenchmen Hotel, at 417 Frenchmen Street in the Marigny.
Tyler Robinson, a founding Partner at SVN | Urban Properties, assisted the buyer, Robert Thompson, in the most recent acquisition for his hospitality company, Angevin & Co. “We are pleased that Robert chose to partner with our firm on this unique investment opportunity in the Marigny,” said Robinson. “Working with, and getting to know, Robert and his team has been a rewarding experience for me personally, and it has also been the perfect opportunity for SVN | Urban Properties to increase our activity in the hospitality space.”
It came down to great timing and a select opportunity for Thompson to infuse his food and beverage background and wide breadth of industry knowledge into the hospitality sector. He plans to elevate the customer experience at the hotel’s two bars (which account for a quarter of the hotel’s footprint) so that they become a focal point of the rebranded hotel.
Robert Thompson, Founder of Angevin & Co.
According to a press release Angevin & Co. released earlier this month, “The Frenchmen was constructed on the legendary Frenchmen Street in 1860, and the historic integrity of the building will be preserved while undergoing a top-to-bottom renovation that reimagines the property.” This includes plans to upgrade all 27 guest rooms, revitalize the two bar spaces, and refresh the pool and outdoor common areas.
“The Frenchmen was actually the first hotel we looked at, but we continued to tour a lot of other properties, both on and off the market,” said Mr. Thompson. “Then we came back to this boutique hotel knowing it was the right move, based on size and location. The team at Urban really helped guide me in terms of site selection, market location and developing relationships – they were an instrumental part of this strategic acquisition.”
In addition to representing Thompson, SVN | Urban Properties also invested in the project. “We first worked with Robert before he sold his previous entertainment concept, Punch Bowl Social, when it was planning to enter the New Orleans market,” said Robinson. “We have always appreciated his vision for bringing new energy to old spaces and are excited to invest alongside him as he begins to make his mark on New Orleans.”
Robinson is also optimistic about the future of hospitality in New Orleans after the pandemic and the prospects for local commercial real estate, “We continue to see a high demand for hospitality and F&B opportunities from our clients – both on and off-market.”
About SVN | Urban Properties
SVN | Urban Properties is a boutique real estate consulting, development, brokerage, and property management firm focused on urban projects in the greater New Orleans area. Clients are investors and business owners that value investing in socially vibrant urban projects that enhance neighborhoods to drive long-term value. With backgrounds in development, finance, and asset management, coupled with the understanding of the local market, the firm is able to craft innovative and practical real estate solutions.
Urban’s roots are in landlord representation – with collectively more than 40 years in representing property owners and investors all with various types of commercial buildings, including retail, office, restaurant, hospitality, and industrial properties. The firm works with clients to find the best tenants that will maximize their property’s performance and provide the highest return on investment.
New Orleans is a broad and nuanced market, and SVN | Urban Properties takes a holistic approach to help clients identify strong investments. The firm has experience in land banking, development, project management, and property management experience. With a strong understanding of clients’ strategic goals, Urban Properties makes timely recommendations based on market conditions.
Connect on Facebook, follow on Instagram (@urban_properties) and LinkedIn. For more information, visit www.urbanproperties.com.
About Angevin & Co.
Angevin & Co. is focused on providing creatively inspired, neighborhood-centric hospitality experiences where our lobbies, bars and restaurants are the beating heart of our hotels. Led by hospitality industry veteran, Robert Thompson, Angevin & Co. develops the concepts and operates boutique hotels and their bars, cafes and full-service restaurants across the country, spanning from the Rocky Mountains to the southern U.S., and based in New Orleans, LA.