CooperWynn Capital has closed joint venture equity financing on behalf of 6PM Hospitality Partners for the acquisition and conversion of the DoubleTree Suites Detroit Downtown Fort Shelby.
The 203-room property will be repositioned and rebranded as an Embassy Suites by Hilton following a renovation that is expected to be substantially completed in 2026. The financing package included senior bridge debt, preferred equity from a national institutional investor and sponsor common equity from Grand Rapids, Mich.-based 6PM Hospitality Partners.
“Executing a transaction of this complexity required a financing solution that balanced flexibility, certainty of execution and long-term value creation,” Peter Beukema, CEO, 6PM Hospitality Partners, said in a statement. “CooperWynn understood our business plan from day one and helped assemble a capital structure that allows us to move forward confidently with the Embassy Suites conversion and the property's next phase of growth.”
“Our role was to identify the right institutional preferred equity partner and structure the capitalization so that 6PM Hospitality Partners had the runway to execute the renovation and fully capture the operational upside associated with the Embassy Suites brand,” added Stan Kozlowski, principal, Park City, Utah-based CooperWynn Capital.
Originally constructed in 1917, the property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designed by Detroit architect Albert Kahn. The hotel underwent a restoration in 2008 when it was repositioned under the DoubleTree by Hilton brand and received additional updates in 2023.
The current renovation includes upgrades to guestrooms, public areas, food and beverage venues and meeting space. Following the conversion, the hotel will operate as a 204-key, all-suite, full-service property managed by 6PM Hospitality Partners.