MCR Expands Northeast Hospitality Portfolio

By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

In yet another step in executing its strategic vision, New York-based MCR has acquired the 160-key Hilton Garden Inn Providence Airport/Warwick, near Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport (PVD).

The asset opened in 2005 and features a 24-hour business center, 24-hour convenience store and a fitness center with an indoor pool. Straightforward enough, but it’s the location that seems to have made the hotel attractive to MCR. Situated at 1 Thurber St., the property is a 10-minute walk from T.F. Green’s terminal and also has access to a transportation hub that connects commuter trains, parking, rental car services and a skywalk to T.F. Green’s terminal. The asset also has a connection to the popular Iron Works Tavern, which is housed in a former ironworks dating to 1867. In addition, MetLife, UPS and Swarovski North America have offices nearby.

T.F. Green International Airport serves 4 million passengers annually and since 2017 has added six new carriers, numerous overseas routes and nearly 8 percent more passengers. In 2021, JetBlue founder David Neeleman is expected to launch his start-up airline, Moxy, at T.F. Green.

Consistent with strategy

In June, MCR closed on its MCR Hospitality Fund LP with the purchase of 11 hotels totaling 1,272 keys and representing $160 million in transaction volume. “We find limited-service hotels to be the most attractive way to invest in the hotel business,” Russ Shattan, MCR’s senior vice president, acquisitions & development, told Commercial Property Executive then. “We’ve been buying and selling limited-service extended-stay hotels for the past 12 years and we’ve been doing it on a deal by deal basis. That has allowed us the flexibility to do more individual single-property transactions.”

The company’s focus on Marriott and Hilton select-service and extended-stay hotels and its attraction to secondary markets with strong fundamentals are clearly also in play in the Providence deal.

In a presentation to the Rhode Island Hospitality Association last fall, Rachel Roginsky of Pinnacle Advisory noted that, based on 2016 figures, Rhode Island’s hospitality sector consistently makes good numbers, trailing only Massachusetts among the New England states. Rhode Island saw an average occupancy of 67.4 percent, an average daily rate of $142.4 and RevPAR of $96.0.

Finally, the report predicted that 2018 would not be as strong as 2017, but that some factors, such as an increase in international business visitors, could be positive.

Images courtesy of MCR