Summary:
- Dr. Prem Kumar acquired a dual-branded Residence Inn and Courtyard in Woodbury, MN.
- The India-origin investor owns three hotels in Minnesota and four in Wisconsin.
- He plans to manage the hotels internally rather than use a third-party company.
HOTEL INVESTOR DR. Prem Kumar acquired the 116-key Residence Inn and 120-key Courtyard in Woodbury, Minnesota, for $27 million—$15 million for the Residence Inn and $12 million for the Courtyard. The deal closed Dec. 4.
Alchemy Real Estate Advisors brokered the 2018-built dual-hotel portfolio on behalf of the institutional REIT seller. The hotels are in Woodbury, part of the Minneapolis–St. Paul metro area, near CityPlace, Woodbury Lakes, Woodbury Central Park, Alamo Drafthouse, the Science Museum of Minnesota and Mall of America, according to Alchemy.
Kumar, a dentist with Almond Dental in Maple Grove and St. Anthony, Minnesota, purchased the hotels with his brother. He owns a 70 percent stake in the purchasing entity and his brother owns 30 percent.
“We feel we have a clear sense of what assets we need to buy after acquiring these seven hotels," Kumar said. "If the right opportunities—like these Woodbury hotels—come to us, we will continue buying over the next 10 years.”
He plans to keep both the Residence Inn and Courtyard and implement a $10 million renovation. After the acquisition, Kumar owns three hotels in Minnesota and four in Wisconsin. He aims to buy one or two hotels per year, according to the Business Journal.
Kumar will manage the hotels internally rather than use a third-party company.
Alchemy is led by principals and founders Bennett Webster, Joseph Cuomo, Brent Clemens and Adam Montufar.
“Our team ran a competitive process and highlighted the long-term strength of the Woodbury submarket and the core institutional Marriott branding for this portfolio,” Montufar said. “We secured hard money at contract execution and oversaw a smooth closing in this environment.”
The Residence Inn was purchased in 2019 for $20.6 million by Vancouver-based American Hotel Income Properties, according to a real estate certificate. The same firm bought the Courtyard that year for $18.7 million.
Touchstone Hospitality Fund recently acquired two Aloft hotels in Plano and Frisco, Texas, totaling 272 guestrooms—136 at each property—in a single transaction brokered by Hunter Hotel Advisors.
