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Karlin Real Estate Funds $96 Million in Senior Debt on Resort Properties in Arizona and Colorado

by Scott Reid

LOS ANGELES — In two separate financings, Karlin Real Estate has funded $96 million in first mortgage debt to refinance resort properties in Arizona and Colorado.

Los Angeles-based Karlin has provided Grand Heritage Hotel Group (GHHG) with a $46 million senior loan secured by The Historic Stanley Hotel, a 140-room resort property in Estes Park, Colorado.

Built in 1909 by Freelan Oscar Stanley, co-inventor of the Stanley Steamer — a steam-driven automobile popular early in the 20th century — The Stanley is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a member of Historic Hotels of America.

In 2010, GHHG completed a multimillion-dollar renovation and restoration program that included restoration of the concert hall and manor house referred to as The Lodge.

In addition to refinancing the existing debt on the hotel, Karlin’s five-year interest-only financing features a delayed-draw component, which will be used by GHHG to fund the completion of a new 50,000-square-foot luxury lodging building adjacent to The Stanley Hotel under a new brand called Aspire Hotels and Resorts.

The 50-room building will provide a luxury hospitality component to a proposed 15,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art wellness center being developed by Estes Park Medical Center and the University of Colorado in a public-private partnership.

Under the partnership, GHHG will provide an array of hospitality services including developing a healthy cuisine restaurant and resort amenities to complement the wellness and sports medicine services being offered through the wellness center.

GHHG also will use a portion of the loan proceeds to acquire Peñasco Del Sol Resort and Conference Center, a 208-room beachfront hotel located in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. GHHG had managed the property since 2010.

Karlin also has provided affiliates of IMH Financial Corporation (IMH) with $50 million in senior debt to refinance the L’Auberge de Sedona (L’Auberge) and the Orchards Inn, two adjacent hotel properties in Sedona, Ariz.

The financing will be used to pay off existing debt and fund various capital improvements.

L’Auberge is a AAA Four Diamond luxury inn and spa. Situated on an 11-acre site, the resort property includes an award-winning restaurant, spa, salt and mineral-based pool, and 18,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space.

The Orchards Inn is a 70-room hotel located immediately adjacent to L’Auberge.

IMH plans to utilize proceeds from the loan to perform capital improvements at L’Auberge and Taos Cantina, a 144-seat restaurant under common IMH ownership with the Orchards Inn.

Los Angeles-based Karlin has provided more than $743 million in senior and mezzanine financing for the acquisition and refinancing of real estate assets throughout the United States. Karlin Real Estate is an affiliate of Karlin Asset Management, a private investment firm with more than $1.5 billion in unleveraged capital under management.

IMH has more than $100 million in common and preferred equity and a business plan that focuses on its current real estate holdings as well as the productive deployment of investment capital on new opportunities. Since 2003, IMH has invested more than $1.4 billion in real estate loans and projects.

— Scott Reid

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