ECPZone.com |

The 1 Hotel brand is the latest innovation from Starwood Capital Chairmanand CEO Barry Sternlicht. Mr. Sternlicht 's previous trend-setting hospitalitycreations included the W Hotel chain, the first hotel brand to combine aunique, hip and useful urban style with superior service and facilities forbusiness travelers, and the Westin Heavenly Bed, bath and suite of products,which he introduced during his nearly 10 years as founder, Chairman and CEO ofStarwood Hotels.

Consistent with Mr. Sternlicht 's desire to create the world's first five-star, eco-friendly global hotel brand, the National Resources and DefenseCouncil (NRDC) will serve as an environmental advisor on each 1 Hotel project,including Seattle , with the goal of helping set a new standard forenvironmental excellence in the hospitality industry. Green Building Servicesof Portland and Sienna Architecture's in-house green design expert are alsoserving as consultants for the project.

As with all 1 Brand projects, the 1 Hotel & Residences Seattle will be aLEED-certified project. The LEED rating system was created by the U.S. GreenBuilding Council and is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design,construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The propertywill also donate one percent of its revenue to local environmentalorganizations chosen by a steering committee with NRDC representation.

Avalon Holdings

Avalon Holdings is a commercial and residential real estate developmentfirm based in Portland , OR. The firm was established in 2000, and was createdspecifically to focus on luxury, urban mixed-use and resort developments. President Paul Brenneke draws on his collective experiences in all real estatefaculties, which include hotel, condominium, spa and retail to envision acomplete lifestyle within a single mixed-use community and has been a pioneerin this arena with one of the first urban hotel/spa/condominiums on the WestCoast. As the vision behind such developments as the Avalon Hotel & Spa in Portland , OR, designated as the only Oregon member of Small Luxury Hotels ofthe World, the firm has earned national recognition for its upscale, urbanenvironments using the latest in luxury design for its condominium projectsand world's top management for its hotels and facilities.

Starwood Capital Group Global LLC

Starwood Capital Group has been a leader in real estate investments since1991. Its international investor base includes some of the United States 'largest state and corporate pension funds, endowments and foundations andhigh-net worth families from around the world. During the past fifteen years,Starwood Capital and its affiliates have invested approximately $6 billion ofequity capital in transactions representing over $30 billion of asset value.Starwood has closed and/or advised on more than 250 transactions and hasacquired equity interests in residential and multifamily, hotels, office,retail and industrial space, golf and leisure-related properties. Starwood'spast and current investments include the acquisition or formation and growthof several market leading companies including Groupe Taittinger and Societe duLouvre, Europe's second largest hotel network; iStar Financial, the leadingpublicly traded finance company specializing in commercial real estatemortgage, mezzanine and net lease financing; Starwood Hotels & ResortsWorldwide, a leading global owner/operator of hotels; Mammoth Mountain SkiArea, the leading four season resort in California; and National GolfProperties/American Golf Corporation, the largest owner/operator of golfcourses and related facilities in the U.S. Starwood Capital Group no longerowns an equity stake in either iStar Financial or Starwood Hotels.