Last year we reported on AJ Capital Partners in Chicago buying the Hilton Eugene for $80 million, one of the biggest real estate deals in city history.
Now the building has re-opened as a Graduate Hotel…a chain that models its look on local history and culture.
Jason Williams is general manager for Graduate Eugene. At last night’s grand opening party he told KLCC that much research and conceptual work went into the facility, which sports a front desk lined with vintage Nike shoes, a giant wall lined with sports posters, and an oversized green and gold toy duck in the lobby.
“The research and development team, the interior design team, and the marketing team all worked together from the home office in Chicago," he explains.
"And there’s been several years of development behind our hotel, there were multiple sites looked at and considered when they decided to build here.”
Other fixtures include artwork inspired by the movie Animal House, and waffle-iron lamps – a nod to Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman who designed a waffle-like tread for the company’s earliest shoes.
Copyright 2019, KLCC.
WEB EXTRA: Hear Williams himself touch on some of the hotel's distinctively Eugene/Oregon accents for guests:
