Two of San Francisco biggest hotels are selling at a massive discount in what Mayor Daniel Lurie hailed as another sign of downtown’s resurgence.
Newbond Holdings and Conversant Capital teamed up to buy Parc 55 and Hilton Union Square for a combined $408 million. That’s 75% less than the value of the properties when then were appraised for refinancing in 2016.
Bloomberg broke news of the final transaction on Friday (opens in new tab), two months after the deal came to light in court filings.
Park Hotels, a Virginia-based real estate investment trust, bought the Hilton in 2000 and Parc 55 in 2015.
A year later, the trust took out a $725 million loan for renovations. But in 2023, the owner defaulted on the debt, letting the hotels lapse into foreclosure amid a post-pandemic upswing in remote work and decline in in tourism.
With 3,000 rooms between the two properties, they represent almost 10% of the city’s hotel capacity, the mayor noted in announcing the acquisition on Friday. The new owners said they want to invest $200 million into upgrading the hotels, he added.
Lurie celebrated the transaction as “great news” for the city as the Bay Area prepares for Super Bowl and the World Cup in the coming year, in addition to 35 conferences committed to take place in SF in 2026.
“Visitors are returning, conferences are choosing San Francisco again,” he wrote in a statement shared to social media (opens in new tab). “It’s a good time to bet on our city.”