650 W Wells St
Blythe, CA 92225

PROPERTY OVERVIEW The new Holiday Inn Express (HIE) in Blythe, CA currently under construction is in an "Opportunity Zone" and will be a "Formula Blue" property with a 20-year Franchise Agreement when completed. Location is on the busy I-10 corridor midway between Phoenix and Los Angeles. The 80-room limited-service hotel will be a 3-story wood frame and stucco building consisting of 47,704 SF on a 145,479 SF (3.34 acres) portion of the site and there will be 105 parking spaces or 1.31 spaces per proposed room. Construction is slated for completion in November 2019. The property comes with a very desirable 20 year franchise agreement! REGIONAL OVERVIEW The HIE is located in the City of Blythe near the southeastern edge of Riverside County. The metropolitan areas of Riverside and adjacent San Bernardino Counties comprise the region known as the Inland Empire. The area offers a strategic west coast location, vast amounts of available land for future growth, a highly skilled and educated work force, a sophisticated transportation infrastructure, and access to 27 colleges and universities (including seven research institutions). The region features a changing economic landscape with emerging technological productivity, and employs in excess of one million people. Recent developments in the immediate Blythe area include a 7000-acre solar energy farm and, because of the soil conditions and nearby Colorado River, there have been several recent large land purchases by several commercial marijuana growers. The Inland Empire is also one of America's most unique regions, featuring pristine mountains, lakes, deserts, and ample recreation and sporting activities, all within an hour drive to the Pacific Ocean. The city of Blythe is continuing to build the area as a destination for year-round recreational hotspot with everything from large music festivals to boating and other water-related activities. The Inland Empire provides access to one of the largest markets in the United States. The California population of 34.3 million generates retail sales alone in excess of $163 billion (47% within one hour of western San Bernardino County). In addition, an excellent transportation system provides rapid movement of goods throughout the Pacific region to an ever-increasing effective buying income. The two-county region is recognized as the “transportation hub of the southwestern United States”, contains the second largest international airport in the greater Los Angeles area, two major transcontinental railroads, three major interstate highways, and a foreign trade zone, enterprise zone, and is within close proximity to the West Coast’s two largest harbors. Ontario International Airport (ONT) is a medium-hub, full-service airport with commercial jet service to major U.S. cities and through service to many international destinations. The airport is the centerpiece of one of the fastest-growing transportation regions in the U.S. that includes a population of six million within the Inland Empire, portions of north Orange County and east Los Angeles County. In response to anticipated growth, the airport underwent a $270 million expansion in 1998 that allows the facility to handle up to 10 million passengers annually. The airport hit its peak in 2007 when it handled 7.2 million passengers. Since then, the recession took its toll and passenger traffic is down significantly. The Ontario Airport has been at the center of a growing freight movement system that includes the airport, two railroads, four major freeways, and an expanding network of freight forwarders. ONT is served by major U.S. air freight carriers including Ameriflight, Federal Express, Kalitta Air, Miami Air International, Inc., Sierra Pacific Airlines, United Parcel Service, Air Transport Int’l, Arrow Air, Inc., Empire Airlines, IFL Group, Inc., and USA Jet. ONT is a member of the Los Angeles World Airports system and is ideally situated as an airfreight center for Pacific Rim and European cargo. The airport is less than 50 miles from the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. Alliance California is a Hillwood developed, 2,000-acre trade/logistics center located at the former Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino. A joint public/private partnership and anchored by the San Bernardino International Airport, Alliance California offers companies over eight million square feet of developed industrial space. Alliance California is home to TRW, GE Engines, Kohl’s, Mattel, Pep Boys, Medline, Stater Bros., PACTIV, ODW Logistics, Komar, Kohler and Interline. Stater Bros. occupies a 160-acre corporate campus in the Centergate sector that includes a 2.1 million SF dry grocery and refrigerated warehouse distribution center among a number of other buildings on the campus. Inland Empire Economic Overview per LAEDC According to a 2015 Economic Forecast released in February 2016 by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (“LAEDC”), the Inland Empire economy outpaced the state and the rest of Southern California for the fourth year in a row in 2015. This has been a welcome development, as the Inland Empire suffered a more severe blow during the Great Recession and took longer to turn around. Job gains have brought the unemployment rate down and contributed to rising personal income, which has supported growth in a number of consumer-driven industries