Hotel Providence, the 80-room boutique property at 139 Mathewson Street, has a new owner following its sale. The transaction marks a new chapter for the historic hotel.
That sponsor is hotel investor Raj Patel, who purchased the property in July through Pramukh Hotel Providence RE LLC, a Seekonk-based entity incorporated in April, according to Providence Business News. Patel paid $10.25 million for the hotel, marking its first ownership change in 11 years. The deal was brokered by commercial real estate firm Hunter Advisors, led by Senior Vice President Spencer Davidson, per GoLocalProv.
The $10.25 million price tag represents a drop from the $12 million Linchris Hotel Corp. paid when it acquired the hotel in December 2015, the Hanover, Massachusetts-based company's outlet notes. Linchris operated the boutique hotel for nearly 11 years before selling to Patel's entity, according to Asian Hospitality's reporting on the transaction history. The sale also included Backstage Kitchen + Bar, the hotel's on-site restaurant and lounge serving patrons in the Arts and Theater District near the Providence Performing Arts Center and Trinity Repertory Company.
A New Chapter for the Hotel
The available reporting does not detail financing terms for the acquisition. It also does not provide further details about the buyer's experience or presence in Providence.
Seattle-based Avatar, co-founded in 2003 by Hazelrigg and Jerry Zevenbergen, specializes in short-term commercial bridge loans ranging from $500,000 to $25 million for nonconforming real estate nationwide, according to Private Lender Link. The prior owner sold Hotel Providence to Patel's entity, and the property changed hands before Patel stepped in.
Three Buildings, One 144-Year History
Hotel Providence traces its roots to 1882, when the Westminster Building first opened as the Westminster Hotel. The property today connects that building with the 1897 Lederer Building and the Liner Building, which web reporting dates to 1994, according to Smart Meetings. The hotel sits within the Downtown Providence Historic District, per the property's own historical materials.
Hotel Providence was restored into a boutique hotel in 2005, according to Linchris's original 2015 acquisition announcement. That restoration provides context for the property's current ownership transition.
Rising Costs Meet a Tourism Boom
The ownership change also arrives amid Rhode Island's ongoing tourism activity.
For Patel's Pramukh Hotel Providence RE LLC, the discounted purchase price sets the stage for a bet that the Mathewson Street property can regain its footing under new ownership.
