Company Press Release: Loews Hotels
December 13, 1999
BOSTON and NEW YORK -- Continuing with its expansion efforts to operate unique, one-of-a-kind hotels in key markets,
Loews Hotels has announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent with Boston-based developers, Sawyer Enterprises,
to build a new 432-room hotel in Boston.
Located on the corner of Tremont and Stuart Streets in the heart of Boston's Theater District the 28-story property
will be named the Loews Boston Hotel. Situated one block from the Public Garden and Boston Common, the Loews Boston
Hotel will offer spectacular views of the Garden, Charles River, and Boston skyline. With plans for a groundbreaking
in Summer 2000, the project is due for completion in the Summer 2002.
In partnership with Sawyer Enterprises, Loews Hotels will provide technical services and input during the development
phase, and will operate the hotel as part of a long-term management contract. In its capacity as the developer,
Sawyer Enterprises will oversee the construction and architectural aspects of the project.
Under the direction of design architects, Boston-based William Rawn Associates, Inc, the building design will be
modern, making it a signature structure for Boston's Theater District.
In addition to 400 rooms and 32 suites, the property will feature approximately 22,500 square feet of meeting and
function space. This includes a 5,600 square foot ballroom. Other features include a ground floor restaurant, full
service health club with an indoor swimming pool and below grade valet parking for 130 vehicles. And, as a hotel
that will be designed to accommodate business and leisure travelers alike, rooms will offer an array of technological
amenities.
One of the unique aspects of the project is the proposed participation of Emerson College as a cultural use tenant.
Under the proposal, Emerson College would lease space for the school's theater arts program and for community groups
performing at the Emerson Majestic Theater. Emerson would occupy the entire fourth floor of the building and would
have a dedicated entrance on Stuart Street at the Warrenton Street corner. As a cultural use tenant, Emerson would
enter into a long-term lease.
``Having wanted to operate a hotel in Boston for several years, we are thrilled to have found a project that enables
us to enter this market with a property that is in keeping with the criteria that complements the existing and
growing Loews Hotels portfolio,'' notes Jonathan Tisch, President and CEO of Loews Hotels. ``In addition, it's
also very exciting for me personally to be back in Boston, where I have great memories of my college years at Tufts
University, and of my first job as a producer and cinematographer at WBZ-TV.''
Carol Sawyer Parks, President & CEO of Sawyer Enterprises and affiliated companies, has initiated a program
of developing the real estate holdings of the company. The initial project in this program was the award-winning
development of 200 Newbury Street, home of Nike Town Boston.
``We are excited to have Loews Hotels as a partner and Emerson College as a cultural use tenant in our Theater
District hotel project,'' notes Ms. Parks. ``Loews Hotels has a well deserved reputation for unique hotel properties
providing superior accommodations and service in the United States and Canada. Emerson College, a Boston institution
with a nationally recognized performing arts curriculum, continues its unprecedented commitment to support the
Theater District.''
As it does in every city where it operates, Loews Hotels will demonstrate its commitment to the community through
its Good Neighbor Policy. The award winning outreach program addresses a range of social issues and concerns, including
hunger relief, literacy, environmental preservation and homelessness. These efforts have also been expanded to
include Welfare to Work programs at Loews Hotels to help transition former welfare recipients into the lodging
industry.
Currently in the midst of the largest expansion in the company's 53-year history, Loews Hotels currently owns and/or
operates 14 hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Canada. As part of the largest expansion in the chain's history,
the company opened two new properties in Fall 1998 and a third in Fall 1999. These include the 1998 openings of
the first ever House of Blues Hotel, a Loews Hotel, a 367-room property located in Chicago's Marina City, and the
800-room Loews Miami Beach Hotel. In addition, Loews Hotels and its partners at Universal, Inc. and the Rank Organization
are developing the first on-site hotels at Universal Studios Escape in Orlando. The first property, the 750-room
Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Studios Escape, a Loews Hotel, debuted in September 1999. That will be followed
by the 650-room Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios Escape in Fall 2000; and the 1,000-room Royal Pacific Resort
at Universal Studios Escape, a Loews Hotel, in 2001. Also nearing completion is the conversion of the landmark
PSFS building into the 585-room Loews Philadelphia Hotel which will open in April 2000.
SOURCE: Loews Hotels