Iowa City company buys St. Louis hotel

Hawkeye Hotels, a privately owned Iowa City company, has acquired a 103-year-old hotel in St. Louis, Mo.

The 90-room Omni Majestic Hotel was built in 1913 in the heart of the St. Louis Central Business District, which is home to nine Fortune 500 companies. The hotel, which was acquired for an undisclosed price, operated as a Crowne Plaza before converting to the Omni Majestic Hotel brand in 1997.

Ravi Patel, president of Hawkeye Hotels, said in a news release that his company plans to completely refurbish and rebrand the hotel. Patel said Hawkeye Hotels is in talks with institutional partners such as Marriott, Hilton, and IHG to determine the brand and flag of the hotel once renovations are completed.

'We're taking great care to restore and update a hotel that has been around for over a century,” Patel said.

The renovated hotel will include a 24-hour business center, high-speed internet access, a fitness room and 1,800 square feet of meeting room space in addition to other standard amenities.

'From a development standpoint, this deal really encompasses everything we look for, which is a vibrant market supported by strong demand generators, a partnership with a trusted brand, and a healthy economy that is built to last,” said Raj Patel, Hawkeye Hotels chief development officer.

The Omni Majestic Hotel, which opened in September 1914, was built to serve middle-class guests, but had advanced fireproofing, two restaurants, and a rathskeller. The hotel's Renaissance Revival design is an example of common styles in St. Louis architecture in the 1920s.

The hotel, which cost about $250,000 to build, was sold in 1996 for $4.3 million to Bray & Gillespie LLC, which operated it under Crowne Plaza, In 1997, Omni Hotels acquired the hotel from Crowne Plaza.

The acquisition of the Omni Majestic Hotel is the second in as many months for Hawkeye Hotels, which owns, operates, and invests in over 70 hotels across the country.

Last month, Hawkeye Hotels bought the Hotel Modern, a 10-story boutique hotel in New Orleans, La. The 135-room property features a different design in each guest room.