Oklahoma City's 21c Museum Hotel is part of a small chain of unique hotels that include contemporary art museums that are open 24 hours a day. A French company has taken a majority stake in the 21c parent firm. [PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN]

A French worldwide owner and operator of upscale hotels is set to take over the growing 21c Museum Hotel chain, which opened its fifth property at Oklahoma City's historic Ford Model T assembly plant two years ago.

AccorHotels announced Tuesday it has signed an agreement to acquire 85 percent of 21c Museum Hotels, which was founded in 2006 in Louisville, Kentucky, by philanthropists and contemporary art collectors Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson.

21c Museum Hotels combines a multi-venue contemporary art museum, boutique hotels and chef-driven restaurants, with 11 properties currently open and under development across the United States.

The opening of the 135-room, full-service 21c Museum Hotel at 900 W Main launched more than $100 million in redevelopment of the once-blighted west fringe of downtown. The redeveloped Ford plant, built in 1916, features 14,000 square feet of contemporary art exhibition space, with a mix of permanent and rotating art displays crossing a multitude of mediums.