Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL)
In August 2009, Lendlease assumed ownership of more than 3,200 hotel rooms located across 10 US Army installations and, with its operations partner, IHG® Hotels and Resorts, became the first developer to begin operations under the Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL) program - an Army-led, public-private venture established to revitalize on-post lodging facilities for Soldiers, their families and all government travelers.
Project outcome
To date, the program has grown to consist of more than 12,000 hotel rooms across 40 military installations nationwide. Lendlease is performing significant renovations and upgrades to existing lodging facilities to include bringing select hotels up to the standards required to operate under IHG's Holiday Inn Express® brand, as well as constructing new Candlewood Suites® and Staybridge Suites® brand hotels. Additionally, a variety of hotels are branded under IHG Army Hotels Historia Collection, which was created to preserve the rich history on Army installations across the country.
In 2010, the project opened the doors of its first Holiday Inn Express® hotel on Fort Johnson, Louisiana, the first branded hotel on a military installation and in 2013, opened the first new Candlewood Suites® hotels on Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona and Fort Riley, Kansas.
In addition, Lendlease successfully delivered the world's largest Candlewood Suites on Fort Eisenhower in 2020, and the Candlewood Suites, constructed in the former troop barracks area on Redstone Arsenal, became the first hotel in the United States built with Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) when it opened in March of 2016. Lendlease will complete its sixth CLT hotel, the Candlewood Suites on Fort Liberty, North Carolina in 2026.