RAM Hotels acquires Raymond Rowe property in downtown Columbus
A much anticipated downtown Columbus real estate transaction that will pave the way for an upscale Marriott-branded hotel in the middle of the 1200 block of Broadway was finalized Thursday morning.
But the deal to buy the 1231 and 1225 Broadway properties owned by Raymond Rowe Furniture came with a twist.
As expected, Columbus-based RAM Hotels purchased the two buildings on Broadway, a warehouse on Front Avenue and two adjoining parking lots. RAM Hotels President Rinkesh Patel went public in September with the company’s plans to build and operate a 106-room AC Hotel on the Raymond Rowe site.
Before the ink was dry on the deal Thursday, RAM sold the 1231 Broadway building that currently houses the Golf Gallery to 1225 Broadway LLC, a partnership between developer Philip Thayer and commercial real estate broker Carson Cummings.
“These are two separate projects, but we will be working together to create a synergy,” Thayer said. “It will be almost as if it is being treated as one project.”
Patel has previously said RAM will demolish the 1225 building to make way for the new hotel. The hotel construction, according to plans presented to the city’s Facade Board in September, will shift slightly to the north into the parking lot on Broadway. They will create an alley between the 1231 building and the new hotel. Currently, the two buildings are attached.
Patel said he will provide more details about the project early next week.
Thayer and Cummings, who had been looking to partner in a downtown project, came into the deal as RAM was putting the Raymond Rowe property under contract.
“They said they really did not have a use for 1231,” Cummings said.
The three-story 1231 building will be a mix of restaurant and residential, Cummings said. He anticipates as many as two restaurants on the first floor and 10-14 apartments on the top two floors.
Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Raymond Rowe will lease the space back from the new owners for six months, said Woodruff Brokerage Co. agent Tra Dykes, who represented Randy and Randall Rowe in the sale.
“During that time, they will be deciding what they will do with the businesses,” Dykes said.
Raymond Rowe has operated a downtown furniture store in the 1200 block of Broadway since World War II.
“We are going to use the next six months for planning purposes,” Cummings said. “We should be ready to go at that point and hope to have tenants by this time next year.”
In September, Patel said he hope to have the due diligence done in nine months and begin construction next summer and open the hotel by the end of 2018. In addition to the hotel, RAM’s plans call for renovation of the warehouse closer to Front Avenue into office space. They plan to move the corporate headquarters for RAM Hotels into that building.
There are about 70 AC Hotels worldwide and another 100 under construction in the United States, including one at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead, and others in Asheville, N.C., and Savannah. AC Hotels are an high-end Marriott brand. The rooms in Columbus will likely rent for between $175 and $200 per night, significantly more than other Columbus area hotels.
It is the second hotel planned for the 1200 block. The Pezold companies are planning a Hampton Inn at the corner of 12th and Broadway.
RAM started operation in 2003 and currently owns and operates 12 Marriott and Hilton properties in Alabama and Georgia. There are at least six more properties, including the one in downtown Columbus, in the planning or construction phase.
Chuck Williams: 706-571-8510, @chuckwilliams
This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 5:00 PM with the headline "RAM Hotels acquires Raymond Rowe property in downtown Columbus."