RobertDouglas Advises 21c Museum Hotels In Securing Growth Joint Venture With Junius Real Estate Partners
RobertDouglas announced today that it advised 21c Museum Hotels in their selection of Junius Real Estate Partners (“Junius”) as a strategic capital and growth partner. Junius, is a specialized real estate investment unit of the J.P. Morgan Private Bank, a division of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Junius Hospitality Partners (“JHP”), a fund managed by Junius, has made an investment in 21c Museum Hotels. Under the agreement, JHP will deploy dedicated capital toward developing up to $250 million in projects for 21c’s expansion. As part of the transaction, JHP will own a minority stake in the operating company.
“Together, 21c Museum Hotels and Junius have created a powerful venture to accelerate the growth of this unique and innovative hospitality concept,” said Douglas Hercher, Managing Director and Principal of RobertDouglas.
“There is simply no hotel concept in the US that is as loved by or has as great a positive impact on its guests, its employees and each local community,” notes Robert Stiles, Managing Director & Principal of RobertDouglas.
“The team at RobertDouglas was instrumental in helping us find the best partner for 21c’s next phase of growth,” said Craig Greenberg, President of 21c Museum Hotels. “The depth of their industry experience and relationships make them trusted advisors. They took the time to understand our objectives and developed a solid plan to help us achieve those.”
Financing has closed on the development of 21c Museum Hotel Nashville, 21c’s first joint venture with Junius. The property, a historic rehabilitation of downtown’s Gray & Dudley Building, is slated to open the first half of 2017. 21c Nashville will include 124 hotel rooms, over 10,500 square feet of museum and event space and five rooftop-level rooms, including two suites, with private terraces. 21c will manage the property and have joint ownership.
21c has doubled its footprint over the past 18 months, adding three new hotels and restaurants and 31,000 square feet of contemporary art museum and event space. The company now operates six hotels, seven restaurants and employs over 1,000 people. 21c has added significant resources to its Louisville, Kentucky headquarters in all areas of the business including corporate sales, operations, museum, design, marketing and other functions.