Taipei Fullerton Hotel East (馥敦飯店南京館) is making history by paving the way for an urban renewal venture that would turn the property into two new buildings, including a Hyatt Centric brand hotel, the company said yesterday.
The 41-year-old hotel on Taipei’s Nanjing E Road is to halt operations today after securing a partnership with Hyatt Hotels Corp on Tuesday to introduce the Hyatt Centric lifestyle brand in 2024, it said.
“It has become a trend for local hotels to enter into management contracts with international brands and I am glad to join forces with Hyatt Hotels,” Taipei Fullerton president Jonathan Chen (陳文榮) said.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Fullerton Hotel East
The hotel in April won approval from the Taipei City Government for the urban renewal project, making it the first to qualify ahead of Leofoo Hotel (六福客棧), which announced a similar plan in May last year.
Hyatt International Hotel management director of acquisition and development George Chang (張知浩) said that the US hotel chain was attracted by Taipei Fullerton’s convenient location.
It is within a five-minute walk to MRT Nanjing Sanmin Station, a 10-minute drive from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and a 45-minute ride from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Chen and his wife acquired Taipei Fullerton in 2008 for NT$2.1 billion (US$68.78 million at the current exchange rate) from the foreclosure market.
They have accumulated a fortune from real-estate deals focused on the hospitality sector, including a gain of NT$500 million by selling Eclat Hotels (怡亨酒店) on Taipei’s Dunhua S Road for NT$1.3 billion in 2009, Chinese-language media reported.
The Hyatt Centric is to feature 220 to 240 guest rooms, with an average room rate of NT$8,000 per night, Chen said.
Taipei-based Continental Development Corp (大陸建設) is to carry out the construction of the two 25-story buildings.
Apart from the Hyatt Centric, Chen and Continental Development plan to construct 130 boutique apartments of 30 to 50 ping (99.2m2 to 165.3m2) priced at about NT$1.5 million per ping, he said.
Continental Development chairman Christopher Chang (張良吉) earlier said that his company would receive 28.67 percent of floor space after completion of the project, while Chen would keep the remaining 71.33 percent.
Chang said that he expects the construction to cost Continental Development NT$2.32 billion.
The two sides have not reached a consensus on whether to turn the new units into serviced apartments, Chang said.
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