A Cherry Creek hotel and social club is now owned by a firm that had lent money to it and that already has another hotel in the neighborhood.
The Clayton Hotel & Members Club at 233 Clayton St., which operates under a 99-year ground lease struck in 2017, was transferred earlier this month to an LLC controlled by Rockbridge. The hospitality-focused investment firm based in Ohio owns the nearby Halcyon hotel.
Denver-based BMC Investments, which developed and previously controlled the hotel, now has a “material” minority stake in it, according to BMC CEO Matt Joblon.
Records show Rockbridge, which deferred a request for comment to Joblon, lent $37 million in 2021 to BMC, which opened the hotel that year. The loan was originally set to mature in December 2024 but included options to extend maturity one or two years.
“We basically recapitalized it with Rockbridge,” Joblon told BusinessDen. “We stayed in. They are the primary partner.”
Makeready, a firm affiliated with Rockbridge, has taken over management of the property. The firm replaced Aparium, the management company hired by BMC.
Joblon acknowledged that the property has encountered headwinds.
“Candidly, the Clayton has not done as well as we wanted it to,” he said.
The hotel and event space business has been solid, he said. The bars and restaurants within it have seen a lot of turnover — “the two original restaurants the hotel owned failed,” Joblon said — but continued to attract notable operators, like Johnny and Kasie Curiel, the pair behind LoHi’s acclaimed Alma Fonda Fina.
The side of the business most challenged, Joblon said, is the thing that makes the property unique.
“The club has not performed to our expectations,” he said.
Clayton members get discounted hotel rooms, access to the club’s gym, coworking space and rooftop pool, invites to regular events and members-only dining. As of the 2021 launch, members were charged $3,000 annually, with a discount for spouses and those under 30.
“We want to bring in all different types of people, different backgrounds and perspectives,” Joblon told BusinessDen that year. “We want to create a space where you can be your absolute authentic self with zero judgment. And you can get great food, drinks and experiences. You tie it all together and I think it can be really fun.”
Clayton’s model is similar to that of SoHo House, the London-based firm that has dozens of locations around the world, although not in Denver.
Last week, Joblon said the Clayton will “work really hard to enhance” its membership benefits across the board, from elevated food and beverage to higher quality events and better service.
“It’s really about doing the fundamentals better,” he said.
BMC’s relationship with Rockbridge predates the 2021 loan. BMC and Denver-based Sage Hospitality developed the Halcyon hotel one block to the west. Rockbridge acquired that hotel through a traditional purchase, paying $93 million in 2019. BMC also still has a minority stake there, Joblon said.
Rockbridge controlling both hotels will result in “real operating synergies,” Joblon said. One general manager now oversees both properties. And the event space at each can be booked in tandem by bigger uses.
“We lose a lot of business at each one because we don’t have enough space,” Joblon said.
Joblon said Clayton members will be able to use the Halcyon pool as well and get priority reservations at its venues, like the underground cocktail bar B&GC.
“I think operating the two together can be pretty special,” he said.
Joblon is Cherry Creek’s most prolific developer, having developed multiple office, hotel and apartment buildings. He has two projects underway now — an apartment building at 299 Milwaukee St. and the mixed-use Cherry Lane project, which involved demolishing a former Sears store this summer. Joblon is also planning another office building in the 200 block of Milwaukee St.