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DEVELOPMENT
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Development

New Castle’s deep industry expertise comes to bear on all our development projects, from pre-planning, construction financing, and interfacing with contractors and architects to FF&E procurement and IT systems implementation. Whether partnering with a local or regional developer, tapping into our network of institutional partners, or undertaking a new project independently, New Castle brings a nuanced understanding of the intricacies of successful hotel development.  

  • An array of a-la-carte services from budget and programming review to FF&E procurement and IT systems design and implementation.
  • Significant experience with complex development, turnaround, and conversion strategies, including historic redevelopments and adaptive reuse.
  • Track record of over 30 ground-up hotel developments or conversions.

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Case Studies

Syracuse Dual Brand

The Challenge

In 2013, New Castle Hotels & Resorts ("NCH") participated in the nationally recognized urban revitalization of downtown Syracuse's historic Armory Square district. This urban infill opportunity presented several challenges including maximizing the existing land use (formerly a parking lot) to fit within the expanding Armory Square neighborhood of retail, restaurants, and businesses. Additionally, the brand selection was a critical component to successfully creating the leading hotel in this overlooked market.

The Solution

Given the scale of the project, NCH identified the value proposition of creating a dual-branded hotel under one roof. We secured franchise rights to Marriott's Courtyard and Residence Inn brands and teamed up with local businessman Richard Sykes for development. The 102-key Courtyard by Marriott and the 78-key Residence Inn by Marriott, share several features allowing the hotels to maximize efficiencies and offer more services to accommodate both the transient and extended stay guests. We worked with the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency to secure favorable tax incentives.

The Results

The $30 million project was the first new-build hotel in the city center in more than five decades and is Syracuse's largest, non-office building construction of the past 25 years. With this project, NCH established itself firmly at the forefront of the emerging trend of dual-brand properties. The dual-branding model maximizes investment returns for owners and caters to a broader range of customer preferences. The Courtyard and Residence Inn quickly became the market leaders and stabilized in their first year of operations, exceeding the proforma expectations by 150%. In late 2015, the partnership sold the hotels to a public hotel REIT for $42M ($233/key) and NCH was retained as manager. The hotels remain #1 in the market for RevPAR index to date. NCH has two additional dual-branded properties including the Courtyard/Residence Inn Dartmouth Crossing and the Courtyard/Residence Inn Jekyll Island (2021).

If you have a project that could benefit from New Castle's expertise, please contact Julian Buffam at +1(203) 451-0703 or via email at julianbuffam@newcastlehotels.com.