Its generous share of the meeting and conference business makes the Four Points by Sheraton in Ann Arbor a prime opportunity for redevelopment.

RockBridge Partners, based in Columbus, Ohio, purchased the 3200 Boardwalk Drive property for $11 million in July and plans to invest $8.5 million in a top-to-bottom renovation that will begin in December. 

The company expects the job to be completed by May 2011, in time for graduation. The 197-room hotel will then be renamed the Sheraton Ann Arbor. RockBridge has in place a new management company at the hotel, Davidson Hotel Company.

"This hotel has the best meeting space, and that gives it a competitive advantage in the market. Our feeling is, if we renovate the hotel, upgrade it and upbrand it, the hotel will be better positioned to take advantage of that competitive edge," says Jon Benowitz, managing director at RockBridge, an affiliate of RockBridge Capital. The company lends to and owns properties in the hospitality industry, many of them in university towns.

"A lot of business at this hotel is generated by the University of Michigan and we expect that to improve or increase, whether it's sports-related or graduation-related," Benowitz says.
RockBridge owns a few other Sheraton hotels, he says.

The 16,000 square feet of meeting space at the 30-year-old Sheraton will be upgraded, along with guest rooms and public spaces like the lobby, fitness center and restaurants. The entrance façade will also get a redo, he says.

The hotel is part of the Starwood company, but was owned individually by the Marvin and Marilyn Zetley Trust in Milwaukee, Wis., according to Ann Arbor city records.

In its 18 years in existence, RockBridge has invested roughly $5 billion in 330 hotels nationwide. It has current investments in about 100 hotels, Benowitz says.

The hotel will remain open through the renovation process.

Julie Edgar is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com.