INVESTMENT
LARK PARTNERSHIP takes road less traveled
PARTNERSHIP WITH PE FIRM WILL HELP GROW BLUEBIRD BY LARK ACROSS NEW ENGLAND .
by JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
Amesbury , Massachusetts-based developer and operator Lark Hotels has formed a partnership with real estate private equity firm Equity Resource Investments ( ERI ) to acquire and develop Bluebird by Lark properties throughout New England .
Lark Hotels Founder Rob Blood says the partnership will target value-add opportunities , specifically purposebuilt hospitality properties in the 40- to 75-key range . While the partnership will be mainly focused on acquiring and repositioning hotels through Lark ’ s development platform , Blood also anticipates deploying a portion of the capital to “ co-GP ” opportunities with other developers . “ We encourage potential partners to reach out with opportunities to work together ,” he says , adding that Lark is currently working on another portfolio opportunity with a family office , but in September was not ready to announce details .
Lark Hotels and ERI have been collaborating for the last seven years , and this partnership will allow Lark to expand its recently-launched Bluebird brand throughout the Northeast by opening at least six properties in emerging destinations over the next two years . The partnership has purchased two properties and had another under contract in September . The former Sunapee Lake Lodge at Mt Sunapee in Newbury , New Hampshire , will open as Bluebird Sunnapee , and the Colonial Village Motel on Cape Cod in Dennis Port , Massachusetts , will open as Bluebird Dennis Port . Both properties are slated to open in the spring of next year . Lark also opened the Bluebird Tälta Lodge , Stowe ,
Vermont , in early October . Outside of this partnership , the Bluebird brand has recently opened Spa City Motor Lodge ( also with ERI ), a reimagined motor lodge in the heart of Saratoga Springs , New York , as well as Parker Beach Lodge ( with a third-party owner unrelated to ERI ), a beach lodge for family getaways on Cape Cod , Massachusetts .
Spa City Motor Lodge opened in June and Parker Beach Lodge opened in August , and Blood reports both have had very strong seasons and are receiving positive feedback from travelers . “ Unlike at hotels in the Lark portfolio , our Bluebird properties are attracting more families and groups , which is nice to see ,” he adds .
Launched in 2012 , Lark Hotels currently has a portfolio of 30-plus branded boutique hotels on the East Coast and California . In 2020 , it launched a
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