Changing Houston
Another new hotel for downtown: $79.5 million buy to clear historic building for guests
The historic Humble Oil Building complex on Main Street and Dallas in downtown Houston that has been home to two Marriott concepts since 2003 — a 191-room Courtyard and a 171-room Residence Inn — is slated to add a third.
RLJ Lodging Trust, a Maryland-based company, purchased the complex for $79.5 million last week, and has plans "to convert the property's apartment component into a 166-room SpringHill Suites hotel."
That apartment component currently consists of 82 units that, according to real estate listings, "range from 519 square foot studios to the two grand 2,000-plus square foot penthouses." RLJ said that conversion from apartment to hotel would be complete "by the middle of 2015."
The news comes at a time when the Houston Downtown Management District is pushing for more hotels near the George R. Brown Convention Center and incentivizing construction of downtown residential properties.










