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GATEHOUSE CAPITAL
Gatehouse Capital focuses on the develop-
ment and redevelopment of mixed-use prop-
erties involving upscale hotels in urban and
technology markets.

Sealing Complex Deals

Gatehouse Capital is the developer for the W Hotel and Residences in Hollywood, Calif., at the famous
intersection of Hollywood and Vine. The $600 million development took six years to get off the ground.
By Brian Salgado 305 rooms, 143 residences, 375 apartments and 60,000

D eveloping a mixed-use project in the downtown

area of a major metropolitan area is never a sim-
ple task. Even with the vast experience Gatehouse
Capital has garnered in this arena during its 12 years in
business, implementing the various procedures required to
square feet of retail space. The $600 million project is the
largest privately financed deal in the history of California,
according to Cohen, and work will be completed in the fall
of 2009.

develop a project at Hollywood, Calif.’s famous Hollywood Developing Upscale Hotels

and Vine intersection has been a major challenge.
But after working through six years’ worth of entitlement
processes, seismic readings, historic renovation permitting,
flood zone and eminent domain procedures, work finally
started on the W Hotel and Residences in June 2007.
“You have to have a pretty long vision,
Gatehouse Capital
www.gatehousecapital.com deep pockets and a lot of patience and
HQ: Dallas perseverance,” says Jeff Cohen, executive
Employees: 18 vice president of development and acqui-
Services: Developer
Jeff Cohen, EVP: “We work sitions. “This is an amalgamation of a lot
with what brand is right for a of people’s efforts and it is has been one
particular site we are dealing of the most difficult deals, but also one of
with, but that doesn’t mean
we’re locked into specific the most profitable, in the past few years.”
brands.” The W Hotel and Residences will have
Gatehouse Capital was founded in 1995 in Dallas, and it is
currently engaged in the development and redevelopment
of mixed-use properties involving upscale hotels in urban
and technology markets.
“We’re involved with mixed-use development with a hos-
pitality focus,” Cohen says. “We work with what brand is
right for a particular site, market and psychographic we are
dealing with, but that doesn’t mean we’re locked into spe-
cific brand before we evaluate the market.
“We offer a unique ability to program facilities in a way
that economically and operationally cross-function and
cross-market each other to make the whole project more
valuable as a whole compared to the sum of the individual
parts,” he adds.

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