Vivo Living Baltimore is an apartment complex located in a twin-tower former high-rise hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. It opened in 2023, while the hotel opened in 1967.

Vivo Living Baltimore
1967 tower on the left, 1974 tower on right
Map
General information
LocationBaltimore, Maryland
Address101 West Fayette Street
Coordinates39°17′24″N 76°37′2″W / 39.29000°N 76.61722°W / 39.29000; -76.61722
OpeningJuly 15, 1967
ManagementVivo Living
Design and construction
Architect(s)William B. Tabler
Website
vivolivingbaltimore.com

History

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The Statler Hilton Baltimore was conceived as part of the Charles Center urban renewal project in central Baltimore. The Hilton Hotels Corporation and Metropolitan Structures, Inc., signed a contract on July 25, 1964, to develop the property, with Hilton owning 18 percent.[1] It was expected to cost $12 million and to eventually contain 500 to 800 rooms in two towers.[2] The head architect was William B. Tabler, who had designed dozens of hotels for Hilton and other major chains around the world.[3]

The Statler Hilton opened on July 15, 1967[4] with one 85-meter,[5] 23-story tower, containing 352 rooms.[6] The hotel was renamed The Baltimore Hilton in 1970. The 92-meter, 27-story south tower addition opened in 1974.[7] In 1979, the hotel's original developer, William L. Siskind, sold the financially troubled property to Abruzzi N.V., a consortium of Middle Eastern investors, including the abu Ghazaleh family, who intended to renovate it.[8] The hotel was the site of a 1980 Presidential debate between Ronald Reagan and John B. Anderson.[6]

In 1984, Abruzzi N.V. sold The Baltimore Hilton to HMK Limited Partnership for $35.6 million[9] and it was renamed the Omni International Hotel Baltimore, then later the Omni Inner Harbor Hotel. In September 1993, Westinghouse Electric Corporation liquidated the real estate portfolio of its troubled Westinghouse Financial Services investment arm, and sold the hotel to the Dallas-based Patriot American Acquisition Corp. for $18 million.[10] On June 9, 1994, the hotel hosted the first WWF Hall of Fame induction ceremony. In December 1995, Patriot American sold the hotel to Houston-based Gencom Group Inc.. In December 1997, Patriot American reacquired the hotel for $57 million, four times what they had purchased it for four years before, as part of a package of 10 hotels they acquired when they bought Gencom for a total of $485 million.[11]

Although Patriot American was the parent company of the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts chain, they chose to keep the property under the Omni banner to avoid brand confusion, because they were already developing a Wyndham property in the nearby Inner Harbor East neighborhood.[12] When the deal for that property fell through, and it became a Marriott, Patriot American converted the Omni to a Wyndham on October 1, 2000, as the Wyndham Baltimore Inner Harbor.[13] On January 16, 2006, Columbia Sussex bought the hotel from Wyndham International Inc., in a package of 14 Wyndham Hotels, for $1.4 billion.[14] Soon after, on March 16, 2006, Columbia Sussex announced that the hotel would rebrand as a Sheraton, following renovations.[15] The hotel was renamed Sheraton Baltimore City Center on January 18, 2007.[16] In 2011, Columbia Sussex sold the hotel to The Blackstone Group.[17]

On May 29, 2014, the property left Sheraton. The original 323-room north tower remained in operation as an independent hotel, renamed the Baltimore Harbor Hotel, while the south tower was closed and a separate operator was sought for it.[18] On January 26, 2016, the entire property was sold to Long Island-based McSam Hotel Group for $14.4 million. The new owners announced that they were considering converting the vacant south tower to apartments.[19] On May 18, 2016, the north tower became the Radisson Hotel Baltimore Downtown-Inner Harbor. [20]

In March 2017, it was announced that the south tower would reopen as a Crowne Plaza hotel.[21] The south tower reopened on June 19, 2018, as the 385-room[22] Crowne Plaza Baltimore - Inner Harbor.[23]

The two hotels had separate entrances on West Fayette Street, but shared all facilities, including a restaurant, 50,000 sq ft of convention space, service areas, and a parking garage.[24]

The north tower Radisson hotel rooms closed temporarily at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The south tower rooms remained in operation, although the tower was downgraded from a Crowne Plaza to a Holiday Inn in Spring 2021, becoming the Holiday Inn Baltimore - Inner Harbor. Both hotels closed permanently on March 24, 2022,[25] ahead of a planned sale and conversion to apartments. The hotels' 50 employees were let go.[26]

El Segundo, California-based Vivo Living acquired the shuttered property in April 2022 and announced plans to convert the complex to apartments.[27] The south tower began leasing units in summer 2023, with residents moving in as early as June 2023. The apartment complex's south tower features "efficiency" studio units between 250 and 525 sqft, 1 bedroom units at 535 sqft, and a single 1 bedroom 1 den unit at 900 sqft. The North Tower remained under renovation, pending completion and attainment of use/occupancy permits.The complex will open in full in 2024, with 708 units, and 30,000 square feet of ground level retail.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "1966 Hilton Hotels Corporation Annual Report" (PDF). Hilton Hotels Corporation.
  2. ^ "Baltimore to Get Theater and Hotel." The New York Times, July 26, 1964. Proquest Historical Newspaper: The New York Times with index, pg. 34. (accessed December 7, 2015).
  3. ^ Encyclopedia of Architecture: Design, Engineering, and Construction, s.v. "Tabler, William B," Vol 5. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1990.)
  4. ^ "The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland on July 9, 1967 · 133". Newspapers.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Radisson Hotel Baltimore Downtown-Inner Harbor, Baltimore | 119025". Emporis. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved 2022-05-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ a b "Baltimore will have two Sheraton hotels". Articles.baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-12. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Crowne Plaza Baltimore, Baltimore | 119026". Emporis. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved 2022-05-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ Meyer, Eugene (1979-03-31). "Arab Investors to Buy Baltimore Hilton". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  9. ^ "$343 Million in Property Sold in Baltimore This Year". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  10. ^ "Archived copy". webcache.googleusercontent.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "Omni Inner Harbor's price triples in just four years REIT acquires it again, for a lot more money; Downtown hotels". The Baltimore Sun. 1997-12-02.
  12. ^ "Downtown Omni to become Wyndham hotel - 2000-08-21 - Baltimore Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2004-03-25.
  13. ^ "Big Wyndham Added in Baltimore - Hotel Business". Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  14. ^ Harlan, Heather (16 January 2006). "Wyndham changes hands". www.bizjournals.com.
  15. ^ "Columbia Sussex Planning to Rebrand the 707 room Wyndham Baltimore Inner Harbor to Sheraton; Reflagging Will Be the Hotel's Fourth Brand". Hotel-online.com. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  16. ^ Dash, Julekha (18 January 2007). "Inner Harbor hotel sheds old brand for Sheraton name". www.bizjournals.com.
  17. ^ "Baltimore Fishbowl | Longest Baltimore Hotel Boycott Comes to an End with Rally Today -". 27 June 2013.
  18. ^ Gordon, Joshua (13 May 2016). "Baltimore Harbor Hotel to transition into Radisson brand beginning May 17". www.bizjournals.com.
  19. ^ Munshaw, Jonathan (26 January 2016). "Baltimore Harbor Hotel sells for $14.4M; Renovations, possible apartment conversion weighed". www.bizjournals.com.
  20. ^ "Radisson Hotel Baltimore Downtown-Inner Harbor Hotel Opens". Hotelnewsresource.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  21. ^ "Crowne Plaza flag taking over downtown property - Baltimore Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2017-03-15.
  22. ^ "Crowne Plaza Hotel Opens in Baltimore". Meetings Today. 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  23. ^ "Crescent Hotels & Resorts Opens 385-Room Crowne Plaza Baltimore Following Multi-Million Dollar Renovation". Hotel-online.com. 19 June 2018.
  24. ^ "Crowne Plaza Baltimore Opens After Renovation, WoodSpring Opens on Florida Coast; More…". 26 June 2018.
  25. ^ "Two downtown Baltimore hotels closing amid plans for residential conversion, union says – Baltimore Sun". Baltimoresun.com. 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  26. ^ Melody, Simmons (18 February 2022). "Holiday Inn, Radisson hotels to close for good downtown". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  27. ^ https://www.wbaltv.com/article/baltimore-apartments-hotel-upcycling-vivo-living/39799904
  28. ^ https://thedailyrecord.com/2022/12/19/mackenzie-to-broker-retail-portion-of-new-multifamily-redevelopment-in-baltimore/