The new owner of the Hotel Saskatchewan is pleased to have the iconic building as part of its family of hotels.
InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust announced on Monday that it is buying the iconic Regina hotel in a $37-million deal. It’s buying the building from Temple Hotels which bought the hotel in February 2014.
“This deal was really a conversation between our two companies. It was available and we really liked the fit,” explained Drew Coles, InnVest president and CEO. “Let’s put it this way: if this hotel were not available at this particular point, it would have constantly been on our radar as a hotel of interest to acquire.”
Coles said the physical structure and historical narrative drew the company to the 1927 building.
“I would say the Hotel Saskatchewan is part of the fabric of Regina. And we like that. We like what it represents.”
InnVest already owns the Quality Inn in Regina, one of its 109 hotels across the country.
As part of its purchase of Hotel Saskatchewan, Coles says InnVest will continue the renovations Temple Hotels began. Coles says he suspects more renovations will be done.
The name of the hotel will still stand, and it will be known as a Marriott Autograph hotel. As for the current employees of the hotel, Coles says they know how to run it best.
“What we do is we own bricks and mortar . And then the hotel staff come over as our employees … they’re situated and they know how to run the hotel. And we’re very, very happy with the job (they’ve been doing).”
The deal is expected to close in September.
cmarkewich@rawlco.com
Follow on Twitter: @cjmarkewich