Sovereign wealth fund buys two North Hills hotels for $103M

Kane Realty and Concord Hospitality Enterprises have sold two hotels at North Hills for nearly $103 million to the sovereign wealth fund of the government of Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority paid $79.91 million for the 229-room Renaissance Raleigh North Hills and $22.945 million for the 137-room Hyatt House Raleigh North Hills, according to Wake County property records.

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, an oil-rich nation in the Persian Gulf. ADIA is the largest sovereign wealth fund in the Middle East, according the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.

The deal is the latest example of how attractive the Triangle real estate market has become to global institutional investors.

“I think it shows us how far our market’s come,” said John Kane, CEO of Kane Realty. “ ... They’re typically in the major markets so the fact that they purchased here, again, it just shows you how much our market has matured.”

The prices the two hotels fetched also shows just how desirable properties within North Hills have become.

Kane Realty has sold off a number of properties within North Hills in recent years for record-setting prices.

In December, Kane sold the Midtown Green apartments at North Hills for $43.87 million. At the time, the price set a new Triangle record for the most paid for an apartment complex on a per-unit basis.

In 2012, Kane sold the Park & Market apartments for $82 million, or $200,489 a unit, a price that at the time also shattered the previous record.

The Renaissance Raleigh opened in 2008 while Hyatt House opened in 2013.

Raleigh-based Concord and Kane Realty are partnering on a third North Hills hotel project that is expected to break ground this summer. That project, which will be the state’s first AC Hotel, will have 133 rooms and be located on the east side of Six Forks Road near the Captrust office tower.

Kane also recently broke ground on a 175-unit apartment complex and is building a second 18-story office tower.

“We’ve got a lot more to do here,” Kane said. “We’re entitled for a lot more and the market is really good right now so we’re trying to get projects built while the market’s hot.”

This story was originally published May 22, 2015 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Sovereign wealth fund buys two North Hills hotels for $103M."