By LINDA COBURN Contributing Reporter The Hilton Glendale, which has been under fire from local labor organizers, is under new ownership. On Wednesday, AP AIMCAP Corporation, a joint venture of New York-based Apollo Real Estate Investment Fund and Aimbridge Hospitality LP and JF Capital Advisors LLC, completed its acquisition of Eagle Hospitality Properties Trust Inc., owner of the Hilton Glendale and 12 other hospitality properties. The transaction was valued at approximately $700 million, or $13.35 per share, an Apollo spokesperson confirmed. Eagle purchased the hotel, which will celebrate its fifteenth anniversary in September, from Hilton Hotels Corporation in 2005 for $79.8 million. The joint venture will operate under the Eagle Hospitality Properties Trust name. “The hotel continues to be Hilton-managed,” said General Manager Linda Norman, “so nothing will change on a day-to-day basis.” Norman said the new ownership wants to continue to upgrade the property. There were several renovations completed over last two years. “Apollo is going to continue that,” said Norman. “We’ll have a room renovation coming up soon.” Over the past two years, the Glendale Hilton has been targeted by UNITE HERE, the union created in 2004 with the merger of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HERE). According to Norman, the hotel employs about 250 staff, most of whom are full-time. “A significant amount of team members have been here for more than five years and quite a few have been here since the hotel opened,” said Norman. She said that Local 11 is asking, “that we accept card-check neutrality.” Norman explained that Hilton has been amenable to an NLRB-facilitated election that protects team members’ rights to go through a secret ballot election process. But, she said, card-check neutrality is an open process where team members are asked to sign authorization cards. “I’m not certain why they want that,” said Norman. “I think a secret ballot is the fairest process for the team. And that has been the sticking point, so to speak.” The new buyers, said Norman, ” are very committed to our team and making sure that wages are competitive, and that benefits are hopefully better than most in the market.”