The landmark of Walla Walla is in a new hand.
The Marcus Whitman Hotel & Conference Center has been sold to an investment group, according to a news release from the company hired to run the hotel.
Kyle Mussman has sold the hotel at 6 W. Rose St. to a newly formed group called Marcus Whitman Holdings LLC. The sale he closed on Friday, December 30th. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Erik McLaughlin, CEO of METIS LLC, which brokered the deal, said most of the group’s investors live in the Pacific Northwest, with some living locally.
According to the release, Musman is part of the group and will remain involved with the hotel.
As part of the deal, it was also announced that Columbia Hospitality Inc., a Seattle-based national hotel and resort management company, will take over operations of the hotel.
Columbia Hospitality operates facilities in multiple states. It also operates The Finch and The Inn at Abeja in Walla Walla.
Mussman said in a news release: This is a truly exciting next chapter for The Grand Dames of Walla Walla as it celebrates the hotel’s 95th anniversary. “
Chuck Hill, senior vice president of Columbia Hospitality, said the company is “thrilled with the city and the three properties.”
Hill said management company owner John Oppenheimer and other members of the management team are part of the group that purchased the hotel, so Columbia Hospitality also has an interest in running the hotel.
Hotel upgrades are expected to begin soon, McLaughlin said.
“A major renovation is planned for both the rooms and the lobby, and design work is already underway,” he said. “We should see changes as early as this spring.”
The Marcus Whitman Hotel opened in 1928 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.