The Fairmont San Francisco, one of the Bay Area's landmark hotels, was sold for $200 million.
According to Bloomberg News, Los Angeles-based Woodridge Capital Partners purchased the hotel from its owners, Maritz Wolff & Co. and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Toronto-based Fairmont Hotel & Resorts will continue to manage the property.
Located on Nob Hill, the Fairmont was under construction when the 1906 earthquake devastated the city. The building survived the disaster and opened the following year. It was the site of the drafting of the United Nations charter in 1945 and presented the premiere of Tony Bennett's classic song ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’ in 1961. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
In 2009, the hotel's owners sought to tear down its tower – which was added to the property in 1961 – and replace it with a high-rise condominium. A coalition of preservationists and the hotel workers' union successfully blocked the project in early 2011, at which point it was put up for sale.
(Photo courtesy of the Fairmont San Francisco)
