Does an investor in three of Oxford Capital's downtown hotel projects have eyes for another? That's the speculation after that investor bought a tiny site across from the Hotel Allegro.

Quadrum Global, which has stakes in Oxford's Essex Inn, Godfrey Hotel and Oxford's planned conversion of the Atlantic Bank Building into a hotel, paid $8M for the site at 178-180 West Randolph St. Adding to the speculation that a hotel could be earmarked for the site, Quadrum recently launched a hospitality arm called Arlo Hotels, Crain's reports, which just opened a hotel in New York City.

The site is narrow, but at 11k SF would work for a slender boutique hotel. It's in the heart of a booming area for hotels. In addition to the Allegro, John Murphy and Choice Hotels are converting the offices above the Oriental Theatre into a 198-room Cambria Hotel & Suites, and Kimpton just opened the Kimpton Gray on LaSalle. [Crain's]