TriGate rebrands Radisson at SMU to Holiday Inn

A Dallas-area hotel is preparing to change brands as it undergoes a multimillion-dollar renovation.

The Radisson Hotel on North Central Expressway near Southern Methodist University will soon be known as the Holiday Inn Dallas Park Cities. Dallas-based Trigate Capital, which owns the 295-room hotel, is investing $8 million to reposition the property as the nearby George W. Bush Presidential Library finishes construction.

“The No. 1 thing we love about the hotel is the location,” said John Mearns, director of assets management for Trigate. “In the last 10 years, that whole neighborhood has changed.”

Trigate bought the loan on the property in 2008, foreclosed on the property in 2010 and took ownership. Mearns said the first year was spent figuring out maintenance and operations. The hotel is operated by Dallas-based Prism Hotels & Resorts.

Now, Trigate is improving the property and changing to Holiday Inn.

“Out of all the major chains, they are one of a few that doesn’t have a presence on Central Expressway,” Mearns said.

Mearns said Trigate was attracted to Holiday Inn for its loyalty program under InterContinental Hotels Group.

Trigate is renovating all of the hotel guest rooms, lobby, restaurant, exterior architecture and the 12,000 square feet of meeting space. Renovations are expected to be complete by the end of the year, and the Holiday Inn name will go into effect by October.

“We think we serve a great niche, because you have some great high-end hotels there,” Mearns said. “The Holiday Inn, we think is a great mid-market brand that appeals to business travelers as well as leisure travelers, and it has a really broad appeal. It fits in well with that market and SMU.”

The hotel sits across the highway from the Bush Library, which is set to open in spring 2013. Other nearby hotels are upscale Kimpton properties: Hotel Palomar on the other side of Mockingbird Lane and The Lumen on the west side of SMU.

The Radisson had an average revenue per available room (RevPAR) of $34.56 for the 12 months ending June 30, according to San Antonio-based Source Strategies Inc., which tracks hotel data across the state. The Doubletree just north a few exits north has about the same amount of rooms and saw RevPAR of $71.20. The Doubletree charges about $30 more in its average daily rate.

While the Holiday Inn offers a mid-market option in the area, Trigate still decided to pick the highest level of finish the brand offers.

“Given our infill location and the great demographic, we really felt like we needed to have a higher-level finish then your standard Holiday Inn,” Mearns said.

Other properties in the area are also making capital improvement as SMU and the Bush Library continue to invest in the campus.

Dallas-based Prescott Realty Group, with AREA Property Managers and Northwestern Mutual, just completed a 400-unit multifamily development on SMU Boulevard. The BLVD, located around the corner from the hotel, also has 9,100 square feet of retail, including a Torchy’s Tacos location.

In addition, after one of the biggest real estate deals of 2011, Energy Square on Greenville Avenue is receiving a face lift. Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co., Champion Partners and Boston-based Long Wharf Real Estate Partners have added fitness centers, landscaping and lobby improvements to the office buildings.

“It’s a great infill location that just keeps getting better and better,“ Mearns said.