New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson and local developer Daryl Berger are teaming with a national hotel investment firm to purchase the Hyatt Regency, a deal that’s expected to close Friday (April 9). The 1,193-room property will be under majority local ownership for the first time since its opening in 1976.



Benson is acquiring her share of the hotel through her real estate company, GMB Properties, which announced the transaction Thursday night. This will be Benson’s first hotel acquisition.







“My late husband Tom believed in reinvesting in our community and that philosophy has made our city a better place. Our investment in the Hyatt will continue that legacy,” Gayle Benson said in a statement.



Berger’s hospitality investments include the Windsor Court, Omni Royal Orleans, Omni Riverfront, Westin Canal Place and the Shops at Jax Brewery. He and Roger Ogden developed the Loews Hotel, which they sold in 2013.



“We love everything about this transaction – the city, the market, the asset and the partnership,” Berger said about the Hyatt deal in a statement.



Fulcrum Hospitality, a New Jersey-based real estate management firm, is the third party in the purchase. Its founder, Steven Angel, is the former managing director of investment bank Goldman Sachs.



Poydras Properties Hotel Holdings Co., the Hyatt’s current owner, did not respond to a request for comment. State records link the company to Ares Management Corp. of New York.



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Gayle benson is bad ass I could hug her