REI to open flagship store at Uline Arena

Posted by Juline Kaleyias on

The site of the Beatles’ first U.S. concert is about to become a destination for the District’s climbers, campers and cyclists.

REI, the specialty outdoors retailer, on Wednesday announced plans to open a sprawling store inside Uline Arena in the District’s NoMa neighborhood. The 51,000-square-foot location is scheduled to open in late 2016. It will be the company’s fifth flagship store and its first in the District.

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Parade of New Lifestyle Hotels Continues in 2015

Posted by Juline Kaleyias on

A rendering of the Bisha Hotel in Toronto which is slated to open next year as part of Loews’s OE Collection of lifestyle hotels INK Entertainment

Last year was the Year of the Lifestyle Hotel, with Marriott, Hilton and InterContinental among the many players introducing new brands or making acquisitions in this hot market segment.

After less than a month, 2015 looks on pace to surpass it.

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Viceroy Hotels’ Founder to Launch New Proper Hotels Brand

Posted by Juline Kaleyias on

With the rise of so-called urban “innovation districts” rearranging so many downtown cores so quickly, there’s been a lack of hotel product to keep pace that aligns with the startup and creative professional crowds swarming to them.

Launching today, Proper Hotels is a new lifestyle hospitality brand that will attempt to bridge the luxury mindset of a brand like Viceroy Hotels with the quixotic underground spirit of ones like Ace Hotel or 21c Hotels. Opening first in San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood at the end of 2015, Proper is the brainchild of CEO Brad Korzen, the founder and former CEO of Viceroy Hotels.

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Douglas Taps United Bank, EB-5 To Finance Spec Office Project

Posted by Juline Kaleyias on

A veteran Washington, D.C., developer has raised financing for a speculative office building project near Ford’s Theater with a $44.5 million construction loan and $9 million obtained through a federal program that allots visas to foreigners who invest in U.S. development projects.

Douglas Development Corp. has already started building the 93,000 square foot tower at 1000 F Street. The building is considered speculative because Douglas is moving ahead with very little preleasing.

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Say Hello to Canopy by Hilton

Posted by Juline Kaleyias on

Hilton Worldwide today announced the launch of Canopy by Hilton, a new hotel brand that redefines the lifestyle category around the mindset of today’s leisure and business travelers. Christopher J. Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton Worldwide, unveiled the Canopy by Hilton concept to nearly 1,900 owners and development representatives at Hilton Worldwide’s Global Partnership Conference in Orlando, Florida.

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