Brookfield acquires longtime downtown Houston hotel, plans renovation

Brookfield Property Partners LP(NYSE: BPY) acquired the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel-Houston Downtown at 400 Dallas St., Paul Frazier, executive vice president at Brookfield, told the Houston Business Journal.

Brookfield bought the hotel from an institutional investor based outside of Houston, Frazier said. The acquisition closed on Nov. 30. Financial details were not disclosed, but the property is appraised at $43.8m

by the Harris County Appraisal District.

The Doubletree is attached to the west side of the One Allen Center building at 1200 Smith St. Brookfield is in the midst of a $48.5 million renovation to the Allen Center buildings. Frazier said the Doubletree's proximity to Allen Center spurred Brookfield's acquisition of the hotel."Since it's physically located and attached onto the Allen Center campus, it seemed to make sense for us to own and upgrade it a long with our office buildings,"

Frazier said. "We saw it as an opportunity to bring the hotel into our strategy and upgrade it."Brookfield hasn't established a timeline for the renovations, Frazier said, but a Brookfield spokesperson said that no renovations will begin before Houston hosts the 2017 Super Bowl. The company is still in the process of hiring consultants and designers for the renovation."It’s safe to say our plans are fluid at this point," Frazier said. "But, a major upgrade of all components of the hotel is warranted."The 350-room Doubletree was built in 1981 and last renovated in 2009 and has 18,000 square feet of meeting space.This is the first hotel that Brookfield Property Partners has owned in Houston. The company owns interests in 20 hotels in North America, Europe and Australia and has a hotel portfolio of more than 14,000 rooms, the spokesperson said.Brookfield's renovation of the Allen Center, which contains 3.2 million square feet of space, is extensive. The renovations include adding a new two-story, clear glass façade at One Allen Center facing Dallas and Smith streets, a chef-driven restaurant with outdoor dining, a new co-working space at Two Allen Center and removing one of the property's two second-story skybridges to open up the property’s green space."We’ve realized we have an asset that’s never been exploited to the extent that it can be," Frazier told the Houston Business Journal in May regarding the Allen Center renovations.illion by the Harris County Appraisal District.