Avison Young Secures $44M Construction Loan for Beachside Resort in Destin

DESTIN, FLA. — Avison Young’s debt, joint venture and structured capital team in New York has secured a $44 million construction loan for Phase I of Henderson Beach Resort, a five-phase beachside resort along the Gulf of Mexico in Destin. Phase I comprises a 170-room hotel and conference center that Salamander Hotels & Resorts will manage. David Eyzenberg and Amanda Saltzman of Avison Young arranged the loan through Ozark Bank on behalf of the project sponsor, Dunavant Enterprises. In addition to the construction loan, the resort is being financed through an EB-5 funding component totaling approximately $50 million. Under the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) program, the EB-5 program, also known as the U.S. Immigrant Investor program, allows a foreign national interested in obtaining permanent U.S. residency to do so by investing in a commercial enterprise that generates at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers for two years. The qualifying investment for a project like Henderson Beach Resort is $500,000.