Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE: CLDT) today announced the opening of the 170-suite Home2 Suites by Hilton Woodland Hills Los Angeles that is positioned in the heart of Warner Center. The opening adds another extended-stay hotel to the Chatham portfolio, the third such hotel in the last six months with total investments aggregating approximately $140 million.
“This beautiful asset is an ideal addition to our industry leading portfolio of premium-branded, extended stay hotels. Built to the highest construction measures and designed to LEED Silver standards reflecting our commitment to sustainability, this hotel provides the best all-around lodging experience in the market with an awesome public space that includes a full-service, indoor/outdoor bar and restaurant, state-of-the-art gym and the largest rooms in the market equipped with kitchens,” highlighted Jeffrey H. Fisher, Chatham’s chief executive officer and president. “We expect this hotel will generate one of the highest RevPARs in our portfolio and believe that it is positioned to ramp up more quickly than is customary in the industry as it is the only premium-branded, extended-stay room product within 11 miles of the hotel. The Home2 Suites by Hilton Woodland Hills will appeal to any traveler coming to the area for business, leisure or both.”
Within Woodland Hills, Warner Center is located within the highly desirable San Fernando Valley submarket of Los Angeles. The San Fernando Valley encompasses some of the most coveted and affluent communities in southern California. Warner Center currently generates significant stand-alone demand with 10 million square feet (SF) of office space with approximately 50,000 employees, almost 8 million SF of retail space and is home to more than 20,000 local residents. The city of Los Angeles introduced the Warner Center 2035 Plan, a development blueprint that emphasizes mixed-use and transit-oriented development, walkability and sustainability with a goal of further urbanizing the zoning district. The Warner Center 2035 Plan facilitates the creation of a Regional Center where people can live, work and play. The plan encompasses approximately 1,100 acres and allows for a net increase of 12.5 million SF of office, 2.3 million SF of retail and 23.5 million SF of new residential apartments (across 20,000 units).
“The Warner Center market is poised to boom over the next decade, and components of the Warner Center 2035 Plan are already underway, including the massive Westfield Mall redevelopment, a lot of newly constructed retail space and the opening of several new residential communities,” commented Dennis Craven, Chatham’s chief operating officer. “The opening of this hotel concludes the successful recycling of the proceeds from the sale of an older hotel in San Diego for $67 million into this trophy asset with an investment of $70 million. We expect the reinvestment will contribute incremental stabilized EBITDA of over $1 million compared to the sold hotel. In 2022, we will continue to recycle capital out of older assets into newer hotels with higher growth prospects. We have emerged from the pandemic with a stronger balance sheet and have the capacity to make value-enhancing acquisitions and generate incremental cash flow.”
The hotel will be managed by Island Hospitality Management, which is owned by Fisher.