Seniors housing planned for newly purchased hotel
NEW YORK: The trend to reposition aging hotels into the seniors housing market continues to grow.
A downtown Dayton hotel that recently changed hands will be redesigned and converted into a mixed-use complex featuring residential apartments.
The former Crowne Plaza Dayton hotel, located next to the Dayton Convention Center at 33 E. 5th St., will soon offer hotel guests a newly-conceived line of Radisson Hotel accommodations with separate studio and one-bedroom residential apartments for veterans age 55 and over living on a fixed income.
The project comes about a month after Crowne Plaza was purchased for $13.1 million. Along with the sale, the hotel rebranded to “Radisson Dayton” to reflect the new ownership and change in direction.
Leading the conversion of Radisson Dayton is Veteran Services USA, a Miami, Florida-based organization that recently acquired 10 properties totaling more than 1.6 million square feet across the United States. The $225 million purchase included Radisson Dayton, along with hotels in Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Mississippi and Oklahoma.
Veteran Service USA acquired the properties in partnership with Lockwood Asset Management, a real estate development and investment firm.
“A hotel’s structure, with abundant plumbing and easy-to-move walls, makes it more cost-effective to convert to living quarters when compared to developing a new property,” said Charles Everhardt, principal at Lockwood Asset Management, developer and project partner. “In turn, our senior veterans benefit from affordable residential options, including hotel style amenities.”
Eddy Nevarez, associate director of Marcus & Millichap, was the exclusive agent representing the buyer for nine of the properties, including Radisson Dayton.
“With many hospitality properties struggling due to the pandemic, my client plans to repurpose these properties and create multi-dimensional assets that will help stimulate the economy and provide essential resources and opportunities to the veteran and senior communities,” said Nevarez, associate director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Hospitality Division.
SarahCare, a nationally-recognized brand providing senior daytime care and activities, will lease space for new facilities at several of these locations, though a press release announcing the projects did not specifically indicate if Dayton will be among them.
In addition to the residential space and potential SarahCare facility, the large-scale, existing kitchen facilities at these hotels will be available for lease to any restaurateur or chef seeking to expand their food business by operating a ghost kitchen.
Eddie Dovner, principal at Veterans Services USA, said their goal is to create a mixed-use, urban model that reduces isolation for aging veterans and answers a growing need for senior day care services.
“We will change the lives of aging communities in every state while serving as a resource for veterans on fixed incomes to secure permanent housing, physical and mental assistance, including vocational upskilling for transitioning servicemembers,” Dovner said.
Phil Hugh, chief development officer at Radisson Hotel Group Americas, said these projects will “define the fast-paced vitalization of Radisson throughout the globe.”
“This unique concept of redefining the large full-service hotels into more efficient mixed-use facilities, with profitability top-of-mind, has been discussed for years,” Hugh said. “Radisson Hotel Group Americas is honored to be selected as the brand of choice for the concept and is proud to be able to give new options to the veterans of this great country.”
Built in 1975, the 13-story Radisson Dayton hotel measures over 180,000 square feet and has more than 280 units, according to property records. Amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, outdoor pool, rooftop restaurant/lounge and 12,000 square feet of meeting space. The hotel is attached to the Dayton Convention Center via a skywalk.