Sotherly Hotels Inc. announced Thursday it has entered into a 10-year franchise agreement with Hilton Worldwide to rebrand the Jacksonville Crowne Plaza hotel as the DoubleTree Jacksonville Riverfront.
The change takes place Monday, subject to the completion of improvement requirements.
The Downtown Southbank hotel is undergoing a $5 million renovation that started early this year and should be completed in the third quarter of 2015.
The 292-room hotel features 12,000 square feet of meeting space, a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and an outdoor pool overlooking the Southbank Riverwalk.
"We are pleased to again partner with Hilton Worldwide in converting our Jacksonville asset to its DoubleTree by Hilton brand,” said company CEO Drew Sims in a news release.
“We believe that the brand change, coupled with a freshly renovated product offering, will help drive both top line revenue and bottom line profits for our shareholders,” he said.
Sotherly Hotels Inc. is a self-managed and self-administered lodging REIT focused on the acquisition, renovation and repositioning of upscale full-service hotels in the Southern U.S. Its portfolio comprises investments in 12 hotel properties, of which 11 are wholly owned and consist of 2,698 rooms.
It also has a 25 percent interest in the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort.
Most of its properties operate under the Hilton Worldwide, InterContinental Hotels Group and Starwood Hotels and Resorts brands.
Sotherly Hotels Inc. was organized in 2004 and is based in Williamsburg, Va. It was formerly MHI Hospitality.
Acquired by Sotherly Hotels in 2005, the Jacksonville hotel was converted to the Crowne Plaza flag in 2006 after undergoing a $3 million renovation of its exterior, public and meeting spaces.
The property formerly operated as the Hilton Jacksonville Riverfront.