The City’s Economic Development Board has approved the sale of the DoubleTree Hotel – formerly the Wyndham Hotel – to the Pyramid Group out of Boston.
The hotel has been owned by WEDGE of Texas for many years, and was given a TIF agreement by the City a three years ago to help with renovations. The company fully renovated the property and updated most of the inside and outside – also switching the flag from Wyndham to DoubleTree.
Now, they are looking to sell it to the Pyramid Group, which is a 20-year-old company based in Boston. The company owns scores of hotels nationwide, but locally they manage the Boston Harbor Hotel and the Revere Hotel Boston Common – both considered luxury properties.
City Manager Tom Ambrosino said it was good news, and the sale came before the Board as it lies in the Urban Renewal Area of Everett Avenue.
“WEDGE is about to sell the property to a local group that runs a lot of hotels,” he said. “It was a good sale. We were a little worried because when someone is selling a hotel, you worried about who may buy it. But this is a good sale to a very good operator.”
The sale is said to be ready for passing papers in mid-October.
The DoubleTree, then the Wyndham, was perhaps the defining moment in the turnaround of Chelsea – opening its doors in 2000-2001. It was the first hotel in Chelsea at the time and was considered a major risk. However, its presence gave birth to major growth in the hotel market in the city, with it now boasting some five hotel properties and another under construction.