PHILADELPHIA, Pa. / Fairfield, N.J., April 28, 2004 � AMC Delancey Group, Inc. of Philadelphia, Pa., and Fairfield, N.J.-based Paramount Hotel Group today announced the formation of a strategic joint venture to acquire hotels.  In addition, the joint venture announced the acquisition of the Southpoint Hotel, a 167-room, full-service hotel located in Jacksonville, Fla., for an undisclosed amount. 
 

The six-story hotel was acquired from Avista Properties, a Florida-based investment partnership.  Consistent with an integrated investment strategy, AMC Delancey and Paramount plan a major renovation and re-positioning of the hotel.  The company will temporarily close the property while it undergoes a complete interior and exterior renovation, including new guest rooms, common areas and meeting rooms.  The hotel will re-open in late 2004 as the Radisson Hotel

Southpoint Hotel 4700 Salisbury Road Jacksonville, Florida

�This is a well located, well built property that will benefit from a major renovation and repositioning as a Radisson franchise,� said Ethan Kramer, Paramount president.  �The hotel expands Paramount�s management and investment activity into the full-service hotel segment, complementing our mid-market, select service and extended stay properties.  We continue to seek additional third-party management contracts and opportunities to participate as an owner in joint ventures.�

Located off I-95 at J. Turner Butler Boulevard, the hotel is situated within a major suburban office market south of downtown Jacksonville, near numerous business travel demand generators.  In addition, the hotel is close to two major Jacksonville medical facilities, St. Luke�s Hospital and the Mayo Clinic.  �We believe the Radisson will be the top hotel in its immediate market, attracting business and leisure travelers, as well as patients and families visiting the medical facilities,� Kramer noted.

David A. Simon, CEO of Paramount Hotel Group, noted: �AMC Delancey is an active partner with hands-on real estate expertise that helped get this transaction closed in a timely fashion.  They focused on aligning our mutual interests and on creating long-term value for the joint venture.  The joint venture is seeking additional acquisitions, and we look forward to expanding our relationship with AMC Delancey as their hospitality operating partner.�

�Our strategy is to carefully align interests with well-regarded operating partners and strategically co-invest with them in a long-term program,� said Kenneth P. Balin, president and CEO of AMC Delancey Group.  �David Simon and Ethan Kramer and the experienced Paramount team perfectly fit our profile of an ideal operating partner.  They are seasoned professionals, well respected in the hotel industry and will create a hotel product in Jacksonville of which we all can be proud.  We hope that this will be the first of many investments with Paramount as our hospitality-operating partner.  In addition, we look forward to creating additional relationships up and down the East Coast with other seasoned operating partners in office, industrial, retail, and multifamily properties,� Balin added.

Paramount Hotel Group, founded in 1999, is a premier hotel management and development company.  Paramount Hotel Group specializes in value-oriented management of full and select service hotels nationwide. As an independent operator, the Paramount team has successfully managed hotels under every major brand including Marriott, Hilton, Radisson, Sheraton, Crown Plaza, Holiday Inn, Ramada and Howard Johnson.   The company is headquartered in Fairfield, NJ. and manages and/or has ownership interests in 27 properties, with more than 3,000 rooms.

AMC Delancey Group, Inc. is a long-term investor in real estate that delivers superior risk-adjusted financial returns by aligning interests with operating partners and investors in a unique long-term real estate investment model.  With headquarters in Philadelphia, Pa., the company operates nationally, providing capital and resources to a growing network of qualified operating partners, creating long-term value from real estate opportunities.  Founded by Kenneth P. Balin in 1992, the company is now an affiliate of King of Prussia-based AMC Group, LLC. AMC Delancey Group, Inc. has a growing network of operating partners and a portfolio of real estate investments from New England to Florida, specializing in office, retail, hotel, industrial and multifamily communities.