APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – The Radisson Paper Valley Hotel is one step closer to being sold.
In a press conference Tuesday, Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna announced that the downtown hotel has been placed under contract to be purchased by Florida-based Inner Circle Investments.
“We have been eagerly waiting for the right buyer to take ownership of the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel,” Hanna said in a news release. “The Paper Valley is an important business for the Fox Valley and an important part of our plans to build an exhibition center which should make our community a key destination for businesses seeking a first-rate conference center.”
Inner Circle Investments, which is the real estate arm of Inner Circle US, owns and operates full service hotels across the U.S. Many of those hotels carry the Radisson brand.
“We have been impressed with the response that we’ve received from the Fox Cities communities and we look forward to becoming an integral part of the community and providing a hotel the community will be proud of,” Joe Gillespie, Managing Partner of Inner Circle Investments, said in a statement. “The Radisson Paper Valley Hotel offers an exceptional opportunity to continue the Radisson relationship in a strong economic market.”
Currently, the Paper Valley hotel is owned by an investment group that once held the property’s mortgage. Those investors bought the hotel after a previous owner defaulted on the mortgage in early 2013.
Last December, a $17.6 million bid was placed during an auction. The owners, however, did not accept that bid.
The hotel has been key to plans to build an exhibition center downtown. In March, the city agreed to buy land for the project from Outagamie County. Plans call for the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel to manage the exhibition center.
City leaders say Inner Circle Investments has experience owning and operating downtown hotels with attached conference centers.
