A pair of hotels across the street from the Greater Columbus Convention Center has changed hands.

Owner Nationwide Realty Investors sold to Hospitality Properties Trust, a hotel-focused real estate investment trust based in Massachusetts.

The Crowne Plaza and the Lofts, at 33-55 E. Nationwide Blvd., sold for a combined total of just under $49 million, according to real-estate records.

"Our franchise agreement (for the Crowne Plaza brand) was set to expire, so we took the opportunity to explore market interest and list the property for sale," said Nationwide Realty Investors President Brian J. Ellis in a statement. "The hotel’s positive performance and (the) strong Columbus market resulted in significant interest in the property."

The Crowne Plaza, connected by covered walkways to the convention center, has 377 rooms. The Lofts, once the only true boutique hotel Downtown, has 44.

Also part of the sale was Max & Erma's on the Boulevard restaurant, which is connected to the lobby of The Lofts.

The sale leaves Nationwide Realty with the Hyatt Regency as its only hotel adjacent to the convention center. The real-estate arm of Nationwide insurance owns other hotels in the Columbus area, including the Hyatt Place Columbus OSU and new Courtyard by Marriott at Grandview Yard.

Those three properties continue to be managed by Columbus Hospitality Group, which managed the Crowne Plaza and the Lofts for Nationwide.

Hospitality Properties Trust is an owner-operator and owns the Crowne Plaza brand. It is managing the acquisitions and plans to renovate them soon, according to people familiar with the sale.

Representatives for Hospitality Properties Trust did not return messages seeking comment.

Eric Belfrage, a hotel specialist for the CBRE commercial real-estate brokerage in Columbus, said the hotels are well-positioned to attract corporate and leisure business along with convention business.

"This will be a flagship Crowne Plaza for the brand, and expected renovations will further enhance the guest experience," Belfrage said.

mrose@dispatch.com

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