Starwood Hotels & Records Worldwide Inc. plans to open a 150-room Aloft hotel in early 2013, as part of the Flats East Bank project in downtown Cleveland.
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View full sizeAloft hotels include a lounge area and a bar called w xyz. The hotel brand was launched in 2008 and has grown to more than 40 hotels, most of them in North America. The Aloft Downtown Cleveland will be part of the Flats East Bank project and will be operated by Heritage Development Co., a real estate company led by Iris Wolstein.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has signed on to the Flats East Bank project, where a 150-room Aloft hotel is scheduled to open in early 2013.
The Aloft brand launched in 2008 and quickly grew to more than 40 locations, most of them in North America. A younger, sexier sibling of Starwood's W Hotels brand, Aloft targets tech-savvy travelers and offers rooms at an average price of $125 a night. Rates have not been set yet for the Aloft Downtown Cleveland, a $20 million development being funded by international investors.
The hotel will be part of the $275 million first phase of the Flats project, a much-anticipated but long-delayed effort to remake part of Cleveland's waterfront. The Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties, joint partners in the project, are putting the final touches on their financing package and still hope to break ground within a few months. Plans for the initial development include an office building, a parking garage, stores, restaurants and entertainment venues, as well as 14 acres of green space leading to a riverfront boardwalk.
"Starwood's stylish and affordable Aloft brand is a perfect choice for Cleveland's upcoming Flats East Bank development, which will help spearhead the rejuvenation of downtown Cleveland," Paul Sacco, Starwood's senior vice president of North American Development, said Thursday in a written statement.
Heritage Development Co., a real estate company based in Moreland Hills, will manage the hotel. Led by Iris Wolstein, a partner in the Wolstein Group and the mother of developer Scott Wolstein, Heritage manages the Bertram Inn & Conference Center in Aurora and Glenmoor Country Club in Canton.
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The Aloft hotel brand launched in 2008 and quickly grew to more than 40 locations.The Aloft property will include nearly 3,000 square feet of meeting space and a gym. Rather than a full-service restaurant, the Aloft brand features a lounge and a bar, designed to accommodate DJ performances and live music. The hotels offer high-speed, wireless Internet access, an in-room entertainment system that connects to guests' laptops and other devices, and a self-check-in option through which guests can choose their own rooms.
Randy Ruttenberg, a principal with Fairmount Properties, said the Flats developers looked at a variety of established hotel brands and considered creating their own before choosing Aloft. The two major office tenants for the project, accounting firm Ernst & Young and law firm Tucker, Ellis & West, participated in the hotel decision.
"As we talk to people about this hotel, we describe it as W-lite," Ruttenberg said. "It will be considerably less expensive than a W but will have the same quality level. This product will deliver a hospitality experience unlike any other in the marketplace at a rate that will be competitive within our peer group."
Investors from Argentina, Brazil, Britain, China and India each have committed $500,000 to the hotel project -- an investment that qualifies them and their families for conditional green cards. The investors can become permanent residents two years after receiving conditional visas if each of their investments creates as least 10 jobs.
Aloft is the second brand to be linked with the Flats project. In 2008, the developers announced plans to bring a $48 million, five-star hotel-and-condo called the 1 Hotel & Residences to the east bank. That deal disappeared as the Flats project stalled and shrank during the recession, when financing for real estate projects dried up.