What First Bristol Corporation does

First Bristol Corporation is a privately held, family-owned real estate development, ownership, and management company headquartered in Fall River, Massachusetts, founded in 1981 by James J. Karam. The company operates across four verticals — hospitality, retail, office, and residential — and has developed, owned, and managed more than 4 million square feet of properties across the Northeast United States (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire). Its hospitality portfolio comprises 9 hotels and over 1,000 rooms operated primarily under Hilton and Marriott flags, including Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Homewood Suites, and Marriott Residence Inn brands. Retail and office holdings are anchored by national tenants such as Walmart, CVS, Bank of America, Hannaford, Brown University Health, and Lifespan, while the residential segment spans market-rate apartments, luxury condominiums, and elderly housing totaling several hundred units in the Fall River market.

The business operates on two interrelated revenue mechanics: recurring rental and operational income from owned and managed hospitality, retail, office, and residential assets, supplemented by project-based development, acquisition, and renovation fees. Pricing is project-specific and quote-based; hotel revenue is driven by room nights, F&B, and ancillary services at individual properties. The company serves enterprise clients — national retail and hotel brands, healthcare systems, and financial institutions — alongside regional commercial and residential customers, with a go-to-motion built on direct B2B relationships and brand-partner development rather than a sales force or transactional pipeline.

The current pipeline signals active expansion: an August 2025 acquisition of a 96-room Marriott Residence Inn in North Dartmouth, a $6.5 million completed transformation of the Residence Inn Newport Middletown (in joint venture with Kempenaar Real Estate), and multiple greenfield projects including a $25 million Worcester Hotel, a 46-acre Weaver Cove waterfront/marina village, the Middletown Center mixed-use redevelopment, and a $17 million historic-to-residential conversion at 37 Park Street. Leadership transitioned to Co-CEOs James M. Karam and Jeffrey T. Karam, with founder James J. Karam serving as Chairman and additional senior executives covering finance, hotel operations, construction, HR, facilities, sales, and revenue management.

Name

First Bristol Corporation

Legal name

First Bristol Corporation

Website

https://firstbristol.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

First Bristol Corporation is a privately held, family-owned real estate firm founded in 1981 that develops, owns, and manages over 4 million square feet of hospitality, retail, office, and residential properties across the Northeast, serving national brand partners including Hilton, Marriott, Walmart, and CVS.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Fall River

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Development: Development of multi-tenant commercial, residential, and hospitality properties including site selection, acquisition, permitting, construction supervision, and financing
2. Property Ownership & Management: Owning and operating developed properties generating rental income from tenants across retail, office, hospitality, and residential sectors
3. Hotel Management: Hotel, medical office, office & retail property building management services
4. Renovation & Transformation Projects: Major renovation projects including the $6.5 million transformation of Residence Inn by Marriott Newport Middletown

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

First Bristol Corporation is a private family real estate enterprise that develops, owns, and manages over 4 million square feet of hospitality, retail, office, and residential properties across the Northeast United States. The company provides full-service real estate development including site selection, acquisition, permitting, construction supervision, and financing, then operates the completed assets through long-term property management and direct tenant relationships with national brands such as Hilton, Marriott, Walmart, and CVS.

Product overview

First Bristol Corporation is a private family enterprise founded in 1981 that operates as a multi-faceted real estate development, ownership, and management company. The company's portfolio spans four distinct sectors: Hospitality (operated hotels under Hilton and Marriott brands including Hilton Garden Inn Boston Logan Airport, multiple Homewood Suites and Hampton Inn properties, and Marriott Residence Inn properties), Office (Class A professional and medical office buildings including Ten North Main Professional Building and Warwick Medical Building), Residential (luxury condominiums, market-rate apartments, and townhouses including Point Gloria and The Highlands), and Retail (shopping centers anchored by major retailers like Walmart, Hannaford, and CVS). The company also has significant development projects underway including the Worcester Hotel, Weaver Cove mixed-use waterfront development, and Middletown Center redevelopment. Services include property development, site selection and acquisition, leasing, permitting, construction supervision, financing, and property management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hilton Garden Inn Boston Logan Airport A 261-room full-service hotel near Logan International Airport offering complimentary shuttle service, indoor pool, fitness center, and business facilities.
• Homewood Suites by Hilton Newport-Middletown A hotel offering 92 studio, one and two-bedroom suites designed for extended stays with complimentary breakfast and indoor saltwater pool.
• Hampton Inn & Suites Newport-Middletown A 95-room hotel featuring complimentary hot breakfast, indoor heated pool, and fitness center, located near historic downtown Newport.
• Hampton Inn Raynham-Taunton An 87-room hotel with complimentary hot breakfast, indoor heated pool, and 720 sq ft of meeting space.
• Homewood Suites by Hilton Providence Downtown An eight-story, 120-unit all-suite hotel in downtown Providence featuring full kitchens, complimentary breakfast, and evening social hours.
• Hampton Inn and Suites Providence Downtown A boutique hotel in Providence's financial district with 110 guest rooms and suites, featuring historic bank conversion architecture.
• Marriott Residence Inn New Bedford Dartmouth A 96-room all-suite hotel featuring studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom layouts with full kitchens near UMass Dartmouth.
• Residence Inn by Marriott Newport Middletown A 97-suite hotel offering fully equipped kitchens, complimentary breakfast, and indoor heated pool for extended stays.
• Homewood Suites by Hilton Downtown Worcester An 118-suite hotel in Washington Square, Worcester featuring fully stocked kitchens and complimentary hot breakfast.
• Ten North Main Professional Building A 5-story, 56,000 sq ft Class A office building in Fall River with tenants including First Bristol Corporation, Brown University Health, and Lapoint Insurance.
• 171 Service Place A 100,000 sq ft office complex in Warwick, RI housing Thundermist Health, Care New England, and BAYADA.
• 222 Milliken Place A 5-story, 52,000 sq ft Class-A office building with parking deck in Fall River, MA.
• Lifespan Medical Office Building A 1-story, 7,600 SF Class A medical office building in Tiverton, RI.
• Warwick Medical Building A 64,000 sq ft Class A medical office building in Warwick, RI with tenants including AdCare, Brown Dermatology, Concentra Health, and others.
• Point Gloria A 128-unit high-rise luxury condominium development with two-level parking deck in Fall River, MA.
• The Highlands A 118-unit market rental residential retirement community in Fall River, MA.
• Lafayette Place A 125-unit residential property in Fall River, MA with MHFA financing.
• The Shires A 66-unit town house and luxury condominium development in Fall River, MA.
• Providence Walmart A 135,000 sq ft Walmart and Wendy's retail center in Providence, RI.
• Fairhaven Commons/Walmart A 230,000 sq ft retail center in Fairhaven, MA featuring Walmart, Stop & Shop, Sears, and other tenants.
• Hannaford Supermarket A grocery retail property in Goffstown, NH.
• Hotel, Medical Office, Office and Retail Property Management Managed services for hotel, medical office, office and retail properties including day-to-day operations, facilities oversight, and tenant management.
• Real Estate Development Services Full-service real estate development including site selection, acquisition, permitting, construction supervision, and financing for multi-tenant commercial, residential, and hospitality properties.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 4 million square feet of retail, commercial, residential, and hotel properties developed, owned, and managed
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kempenaar Real EstatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner with First Bristol Corporation for the $6.5 million transformation of Residence Inn by Marriott Newport Middletown, demonstrating co-development partnership in hospitality renovation projects
• Hilton WorldwidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing brand partnership for development and operation of Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Homewood Suites properties across the Northeast
• Marriott InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrand partnership for Residence Inn by Marriott properties including Newport Middletown and New Bedford Dartmouth acquisitions
• Tocci Building Co.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction management services provider for Worcester Homewood Suites hotel project

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The RMR Group: Alternative asset manager that owns and operates commercial real estate across hospitality, office, and medical office — broad incumbent in commercial real estate management with overlapping hospitality and office exposure.
• Pebblebrook Hotel Trust: Lodging REIT with a portfolio of urban and resort hotels under major brands — comparable branded-hotel ownership exposure, though at meaningfully larger scale and national footprint.
• Host Hotels & Resorts: Largest publicly traded lodging REIT focused on luxury and upper-upscale hotels under Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt flags — broad incumbent with overlapping branded-hotel ownership but at far larger scale and public-company scope.

Direct peers

• Sage Hospitality: Denver-based hotel developer, owner, and operator with a portfolio of owned and managed hotels across multiple brands — comparable in combining hotel development with branded-flag partnerships and on-property operations.
• Woodbury Corporation: Utah-based private real estate firm developing and managing mixed-use, hospitality, office, retail, and residential properties — comparable privately-held developer with diversified property type exposure.
• The Procaccianti Companies: Rhode Island-based privately held real estate firm that develops, owns, and manages hotels and commercial properties — directly comparable in regional footprint, hospitality focus, and full-stack ownership model.
• Hersha Hospitality Trust: Hotel-focused REIT concentrated in urban gateway markets with properties under Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and InterContinental flags — comparable in branded select-service and upscale hotel ownership strategy.
• Raymond Management Company: Privately held Midwest real estate developer, owner, and manager of hotels, office, and retail properties — comparable privately-held, multi-sector real estate operator with similar full-stack capabilities.
• Pyramid Hotel Group: Boston-based hotel management and ownership company operating branded properties under Hilton, Marriott, IHG — comparable as a regional hotel owner/operator partnering with major flags.

Regional players

• HP Hotels: Hotel management and ownership group focused on Hilton, Marriott, IHG and Hyatt branded properties in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast — regional player with comparable branded-hotel operating expertise.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Bristol Corporation