ATLANTA, March 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CGI Merchant
Group, LLC (CGI) — a minority-owned global investment management
firm with a focus in real estate and private equity — announced
today it will make a $30 million
investment in the historic Morris Brown
College to convert existing facilities into a 150-key
upscale hotel and hospitality management training complex.
Construction of the 90,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility is
expected to begin later this year.
With this announcement, Morris Brown
becomes the only Historically Black College and University (HBCU)
nationwide with both a flagged hotel and a hospitality management
training program on its campus. The hotel will join the Tapestry
Collection by Hilton, adding to the hospitality industry leader's
portfolio, consisting of more than 6,400 properties in 119
countries and territories worldwide. The 150-key property will
offer two food and beverage outlets, an outdoor terrace and
instructional space for the school's hospitality students. The
venture marks another milestone for CGI's recently launched
$650 million Hospitality Opportunity
Fund (H-fund), which targets to acquire 20 hotels across
North America and the Caribbean over the next three years.
Morris Brown was founded by formerly
enslaved religious leaders at Big Bethel AME Church in 1881 and is
the first college in Georgia to be
owned and operated by African Americans. The iconic Fountain Hall
and the current Morris Brown campus is
where Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois wrote The
Souls of Black Folk in 1903. Notable alumni include Alberta Williams King, mother of Martin Luther King, Jr., and James Alan McPherson, the first Black writer to
win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Morris Brown is centrally located in
downtown Atlanta within a one-mile
radius of other renowned HBCUs, such as Morehouse College, Spelman
College and Clark Atlanta
University, within the Atlanta University Center Consortium.
The campus sits next to the Mercedes Benz Stadium, home of the
Atlanta Falcons national football team, tech giant Microsoft Corp's
soon-to-be Atlanta office and the
State Farm Arena.
"Morris Brown's storied history and
prime location make this a perfect opportunity for CGI to fulfill
our mission of uniting sound financial investing with a meaningful
and measurable community impact," said CGI Founder and CEO
Raoul Thomas. "It is both a
privilege and source of pride to be embarking on this endeavor with
likeminded business partners who have come together to make
history. CGI hopes that this partnership serves as a catalyst for
continued change, as more and more organizations and individuals
are turning their attention to these important historic
institutions which have been overlooked for far too long."
In addition to the development of the hotel and training
complex, CGI has committed to the establishment of an
endowment to fund several initiatives including financial aid to
students, future expansion goals, and assisting minority and
women-owned businesses in the surrounding community, with the
objective of creating the number one hospitality management program
at a HBCU in the U.S.
The partnership opportunity was presented by Verdun Perry as
well as CGI Senior Managing Director, Euclid Walker. Both Perry and
Walker are honorable alumni and board
members of neighboring HBCU Morehouse
College.
Hilton intends to play an active role in the project, going
beyond the proposed franchisor and operator. The hotel industry
giant will serve in an advisory capacity for Morris Brown's hospitality management program,
providing guidance on how the curriculum can best prepare
Morris Brown students for any number of
careers in the hotel business. Hilton also looks forward to
contributing guest lecturers and facilitating job shadowing at
local Hilton properties for Morris
Brown students, creating pathways for internship and
post-graduation career opportunities.
"Hilton was founded more than 100 years ago with one vision in
mind: to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality.
We've seen time and again the tremendous positive impact travel can
have on people and communities around the world – and that's what
fuels our commitment to driving inclusive growth," said
Christopher J. Nassetta, president
& chief executive officer, Hilton. "Our work with CGI and
Morris Brown College represents an
important opportunity to bring even brighter, more diverse
perspectives to the hospitality industry, and we look forward to
helping this next generation of leaders thrive for years to
come."
Given CGI's mission to support local and minority-owned
businesses, the project development team is comprised of
Georgia's C. D. Moody
Construction, one of the country's top Black-owned construction
companies and Chasm Architecture, a full-service design firm based
in Atlanta.
"It is heartening to see major hospitality players not only
supporting our academic institution but making a concerted effort
to advance equity in the industry as a whole," said Dr.
Kevin James, President of
Morris Brown. "Morris Brown has served as a beacon of opportunity
for Black and minority students for many decades. We look forward
to working alongside CGI and its partners as we continue to carry
that legacy and create the next generation of minority hospitality
leaders."
About CGI Merchant Group, LLC
Founded in 2006, CGI
Merchant Group currently holds assets across multiple alternative
investment strategies, including value-add and opportunistic funds.
These ventures have consistently delivered double-digit returns
since their inception, and in the process, allowed CGI to execute
in all economic cycles. For more information about CGI Merchant
Group, visit https://cgimg.com.
About Morris Brown
College
Morris Brown College, founded in 1881
by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, is a private,
coeducational liberal arts college engaged in teaching and public
service with a special focus on hospitality, leadership,
management, entrepreneurship, and technology.
About Hilton
Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global
hospitality company with a portfolio of 18 world-class
brands comprising more than 6,400 properties and more than one
million rooms, in 119 countries and territories. Dedicated to
fulfilling its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and
warmth of hospitality, Hilton has welcomed more than 3 billion
guests in its more than 100-year history, earned a top spot on the
2020 World's Best Workplaces list, and was named the 2020 Global
Industry Leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. In
2020, Hilton CleanStay was introduced, bringing an
industry-defining standard of cleanliness and disinfection to
hotels worldwide. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program
Hilton Honors, the more than 112 million members who book directly
with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money
can't buy, plus enjoy instant benefits, including contactless
check-in with room selection, Digital Key, and Connected Room.
Visit newsroom.hilton.com for more information, and
connect with Hilton
on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
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SOURCE CGI Merchant Group