The new owners of the Black Point Inn do not plan on making any major changes to the establishment and are planning to continue to operate the business the same as it has been over the years.
Currently the only changes that have been proposed at the historic inn are renovations in the public areas, the addition of high-speed wireless Internet access property-wide, a new function tent, refurbished dance floor and installation of state-of-the-art exercise equipment.
Two longtime Prouts Neck property owners, Ogden Hunnewell, of Chestnut Hill, Mass., the president of Nordic Prosperities, a Massachusetts real estate development company and Bob Gould, of South Hamilton, Mass., an investment banker, closed on the property on Monday with a lease/sales agreement and expect the final closing to occur in January 2006. Hunnewell and Gould are partners in BPI Management, the company that owns the property.
“The Black Point Inn is a legendary property and one that holds a special place in the harts of its guests and among members of the local community,” Hunnewell said in a company press release. “Upholding the inn’s proud tradition of exemplary guest service in an unparalleled setting will both be an honor and a privilege.”
BPI has hired Pinnacle Advisory Group, a hospitality firm, to oversee the property and the company is now in the process of hiring a general manger for the property. But, for the most part, the staff is now in place and the inn will be ready to open on April 26, according to Pinnacle’s Director of Asset and Management Service Matthew Arrants, adding that the transition in ownership will be seamless to guests.
Arrants said reports that the owners are looking to divest the property and sell if off as condominiums is not true. He said BPI had approached the town to see if there was a possibility of selling off the property, but that was only part of its due diligence and the owners have every intention of continuing to operate the facility as an inn.
Arrants said the inn is looking forward to a banner year and said it already has a number of bookings for the season. Room rates, which include breakfast, tea and dinner are $229 a night in the winter $325 in the spring and $480 in the summer.
The inn, which was purchased by Eric Cianchette’s Maine Historical Hotels in 1998, is assessed at nearly $8.8 million. The nine-acre property includes 82 hotel rooms and is surrounded by the ocean on three sides. The inn has been closed since Feb. 16 and is expected to reopen on April 25.
The Black Point Inn was built in 1878 by the Kaler family and was originally called the Southgate. It was later renamed the Black Point Inn to better blend in with the surrounding area. The inn has been included in the National Register of Historic Hotels of America since 1998.
Information contained in the liquor permit states that the gross income generated from room rentals for the last year was about $2.8 million. Gross revenue from liquor sales during the same time period is about $500,00 and food sales were at nearly $2 million.
Town ordinances require a new owner of a property to apply for their own liquor license. The Town Council will decide on the request at its April 6 meeting, after the Current’s deadline.
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