The SPH Hotel Company (hereafter SPH) was incorporated in May 1963 to build and operate a "first-class hotel" in downtown St. Paul (ultimately, Kellogg Boulevard and Wabasha Street). SPH contracted with the Hilton Hotel Company to operate the hotel. By 1975, Hilton's interest in the venture had waned, while the Radisson Hotel Company's had peaked. SPH entered into a limited partnership (St. Paul Joint Venture) with Capital Hospitality Corporation, a subsidiary of Carlson Companies, Inc., whereby Radisson would both manage the current property while also being allowed to build the nearby Radisson Plaza Hotel (later operated as a Holiday Inn).
In 1986, SPH and Radisson disputed the division of proceeds from selling the Plaza property, whence the Port Authority of the City of St. Paul (Port Authority) bought out Radisson's half of the St. Paul Joint Venture, though Radisson continued to manage the Kellogg Boulevard property. In 1992, attempting to redress financial obligations and prevent the hotel's foreclosure, SPH sold its interest in the St. Paul Joint Venture to the Port Authority. The Port Authority agreed to sell the Kellogg Boulevard property in 2005, which became the Crowne Plaza St. Paul-Riverfront Hotel the following year.
From the guide to the SPH Hotel Company records., 1963-1995., (Minnesota Historical Society)
