CMH4: October 2006

CMH4: Article for 17 November

Hotel Mixed Use: Magic Johnson's Latest Billion Dollar Bet

This article talks about Hotels development by Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the retired Lakers basketball star is interested to put 1 billion $ to developing 3 blocks in Midtown of Atlanta City. The goal is to revitalize the hotels, residents in this area.

It’s not a joke about Magic Johnson, but it is a really huge development project, which Magic cooperate with Daniel Corp. and Selig Enterprises Inc. At the same time he set up his own company named Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds.

The project will be very useful and necessary for many people. This investment in hotel mixed-use called '12th and Midtown. The midtown area in Atlanta will be the place where people can live, work and have divers’ advertisements.

This project is not the first project of Johnson Company; he has already announced a $120 million mixed-use project with office and housing complexes in Miami's Little Havana area. And Canyon Johnson has been active for several years-it seeks to revive neglected urban areas with real estate investment.

We have to add, that Johnson projects in Hospitality Industry it is not first. Many celebrities have already put their hand into this kind of business. We can constant recently news about cooperation between Bill Gates and Prince Al-Waleed to buy Canadian Four Season’s Group. Another Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal and his $1 billion dollar hotel mixed-use investment with MDM Development in downtown Miami. Next example famous tennis couple Agassi-Graf with their Tamarack Resort and teaming with AOL Founder Steve Case for Agassi-Graf Tennis and Fitness Centers and many others.

As the author of article said “It is also interesting because it shows another hotel mixed-use side of the Canyon Capital-the good people who provide a lot of debt and equity financing for our industry” some points of his view are true.

But in another hand, putting the names of celebrities behind the projects always catches much more attention of grand public than a simple development company. For me it’s kind of good way to selling your “Famous Name” to make easy money, but it doesn’t work always.

the link for this article you can find below :

http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article25104-Hotel_Mixed_Use__Magic_Johnson_s_Latest_Billion_Dollar_Bet___By_Jim_Butler__author_of_www_HotelLawBlog_com.html