Texan Strides Into Starring Role at W Hollywood

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The Business Journal salutes industry standouts for bringing welcome relief to the hospitality sector.

MOST CREATIVE HOSPITALITY DEVELOPER

Marty Collins, 57

Chief Executive, Gatehouse Capital Corp.

Marty Collins knew he wanted to build a W Hotel & Residences in Los Angeles. He knew that it had to be in Hollywood, and he wanted it at the famed intersection of Hollywood and Vine.

Collins has never been one to shy from a challenge.

His company, Gatehouse Capital Corp. of Dallas, has built W hotels in San Diego, Dallas and Silicon Valley, giving him the necessary experience to tackle a complex development in the heart of L.A.’s iconic neighborhood.

The 305-room hotel and 143 condos, co-developed by HEI Hospitality LLC of Norwalk, Conn., debuted in January at a star-studded event the weekend of the Grammy Awards. Combined with a 375-unit apartment project developed by Legacy Partners, it’s one of L.A.’s largest mixed-use projects.

But before the Hollywood parties, there were quarrels with a local business, a global recession and the challenge of building on a tricky site.

“The development business is a funny business. We talk about it internally as a business of faith,” said Collins. “Not religious faith necessarily but that kind of classical faith of hope beyond reason.”

After identifying a five-acre site just east of the intersection, Gatehouse purchased three acres from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Collins also worked with the city of L.A.’s Community Redevelopment Agency to acquire parts of the remaining two acres, which required a much publicized threat of eminent domain. There also was a spat with the owner of Bernard Luggage Co., who successfully fought to retain and have Gatehouse restore his building on the development’s western edge.

“It was complicated. There were competing interests; different uses stacked on top of each other,” said Leron Gubler, president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. “Collins was obviously taking a risk. He was very skilled and very patient.”

Once the land was assembled, Gatehouse faced building the 15-story project on an oddly shaped parcel atop a subway station and a 1,400-space subterranean parking lot. Collins worked closely with architect HKS Inc. and engineering firm DCI Engineers to ensure a thoughtful layout.

“How the building looks and how the building affects the streetscape and the skyscape, yes, I am very concerned about that – regretfully for the designers,” Collins said.

Collins, who has an undergraduate degree from the University of Akron in Ohio, and graduate degrees in business and liberal arts from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, started his career in the hospitality business in 1985 at Americana Hotels Corp. While there, he worked on behalf of the Bass family, a prominent Fort Worth, Texas, family, to sell a large hotel portfolio. (Forbes has estimated the family’s oil-based fortune at $10 billion.)

After Americana, Collins worked for Hampstead Group, a real estate company that has counted the Bass family as investors. Collins left to start Gatehouse in 1995.

Following his tenure with Hampstead Group, Collins worked directly with the Trammell Crow family as a partner on various real estate projects, before leaving to start Gatehouse in 1995.

Collins has built more than $1 billion in projects, but the W Hollywood is his most complicated. Though it will host hot parties and other chic gatherings in its upscale eateries and rooftop nightclub, it also has the distinction of being his second home. Collins, who is married and has five children, ages 4 to 29, has purchased a condominium there.

“My family is very excited about it,” said Collins, whose primary residence is outside of Dallas.

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