Loews Acquires The Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C.

December 7, 2012

Loews Hotels & Resorts, a wholly owned-subsidiary of Loews Corporation (NYSE: L), is entering the Washington market. The New York-based hotel owner and operator has agreed to purchase the Madison Hotel from Jamestown Properties

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Loews Hotels & Resorts, a wholly owned subsidiary of Loews Corp. (NYSE: L), is entering the Washington market. The New York-based hotel owner and operator has agreed to purchase the Madison Hotel from Jamestown Properties, an Atlanta-based real estate investment firm. The price has not been disclosed, but the acquisition is expected to close in January 2013.

This is Loews’ second major hotel acquisition this year, as it purchased the Renaissance Hotel & Spa in Hollywood, Calif., in June. The two buys are part of the company’s plan to strengthen its portfolio over the next five years; it expects to announce additional new properties in the coming months. It now owns and operates 18 hotels and resorts in the United States and Canada, and aims to boost the count to more than 30.

The Madison Hotel is located at 1177 15th St., N.W., in the heart of Washington, D.C. It has 356 rooms and more than 12,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting and event space in 12 distinct settings, including a 3,300-square-foot ballroom with seating capacity for as many as 400 people. The Madison is also home to the Federalist, one of the District’s top restaurants, and the PostScript Bar and Lounge.

Loews managed the hotel until January 2011, when Jamestown Properties purchased it and an adjacent office building for $123 million. The property just underwent a $23 million renovation.

Washington, D.C., ranks among the top seven U.S. cities for international travelers and among the top 20 domestically. It attracted an estimated 18 million visitors in 2012. The Madison is in a prime location, close to the White House, Embassy Row, the Capitol Building, the National Mall and Smithsonian museums. “We expect that the hotel’s quality coupled with the addition of the Loews brand will give us a strong, competitive position in the D.C. market,” said Paul Whetsell, Loews’ president & CEO, who joined almost a year ago to lead the company’s growth strategy.