VOLUME 31, NUMBER 02
Š2015 Law Bulletin Publishing Co.
February 2015
Morrissey’s view: Hotel market in Twin Cities stronger than ever
By Dan Rafter, Editor
B
ill Morrissey has never seen a stronger hotel market in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market than the one he's working in now. This is good timing. St. Paul, Minn.-based Morrissey Hospitality Companies is developing a four-story Hilton Home2 Suites hotel in the suburb of Eagan, just east of the new Twin Cities Premium Outlets that opened here last summer. Morrissey, president chief executive officer and founder of Morrissey Hospitality Companies, expects demand to be strong for the new hotel. Once it opens,
it will be the first new hotel in Eagan since 2002. "The hotel market in the Twin Cities is the strongest I've seen it in my entire career," Morrissey said. "During the recession nothing new was built. The supply side, then, was kept under control. The industry can be hurt when everyone comes rushing in with new products at the same time. But our supply has been low, so we are ready for new hotels here." Morrissey knows of what he speaks. He's a veteran of the hospitality industry, and his company provides development, management and consulting services in the hotel business. So if he says the Twin Cities' hotel sector is strong, it is. Hotel to page 20
Out-of-state investors targeting Minneapolis/St. Paul apartment market By Dan Rafter, Editor
S
cott Streiff picked up this interesting bit of information while attending the 2015 National Multifamily Housing Council Apartment Strategies Outlook Conference in Palm Springs: A growing number of national and international investors are targeting the Twin Cities' apartment market. And this is making it more difficult for local investors to sink their dollars into the new and
existing apartment developments in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market. "A lot of national players want to get into the Minneapolis/St. Paul multi-family market," said Streiff, vice president with St. Paul-based Oak Grove Capital. "If you look at the trades we had in this sector last year, I think only one of the big transactions were completed by a local player. Most of the big transactions involved out-of-state money. People want to put their capital into this market." This isn't that surprising to anyone who's fol-
lowed the Twin Cities' apartment market. Multifamily developers have hit the market hard. They added about 4,000 new multi-family units to the region in 2014, and are expected to bring another 5,000 to the area this year. Streiff says that the demand for multi-family living justifies this influx of new apartment units. A growing number of consumers want to live in urban areas where they can walk to public transportation, restaurants, pubs and shops. They can Investors to page 21