By Matt Valley Despite a tumultuous 2020, a year in which the country was turned upside down by a deadly pandemic that led to economic upheaval, the commercial real estate lending community overwhelmingly believes brighter days are ahead on the business front. France Media’s 2021 forecast survey of direct lenders and financial intermediaries nationally reveals that 84 percent of respondents expect the total dollar amount of commercial and multifamily loans closed by their firm this year to increase when compared with 2020 deal volume. Only 6 percent of survey respondents anticipate business volume will decrease at their firm on a year-over-year basis, and 10 percent project business volume will remain the same. “I expect our loan volume to increase by 50 percent in 2021 versus 2020, as many lenders were unable to make decisions or even set loan policies during COVID,” says Ben Kadish, president of Maverick Commercial Mortgage, a Chicago-based mortgage banking firm. “As the vaccine process expands, and the world opens up, lending for more property types will expand. Some lenders will start looking at retail, office and hospitality now.” As of late February the death toll in the United States from COVID-19 had surpassed 500,000, according to …
Hospitality
ATLANTA — CGI Merchant Group LLC (CGI), a global investment management firm, will invest $30 million to convert existing facilities at Morris Brown College in Atlanta into an upscale, 150-room hotel and hospitality management training complex. Construction of the 90,000-square-foot facility is expected to begin later this year. The investment was made through CGI’s new $650 million Hospitality Opportunity Fund, whose goal is to acquire 20 hotels in North America and the Caribbean over the next three years. Morris Brown was founded in 1881 and is the first college in Georgia to be owned and operated by African Americans. The college is located within a one-mile radius from other Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU) Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University. The campus sits next to Mercedes Benz Stadium, home arena of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United. The hotel, which will be branded under the Tapestry Collection by Hilton, will feature two food and beverage outlets, an outdoor terrace and instructional space for the school’s hospitality students. With this investment, Morris Brown is the only HBCU nationwide with both a flagged hotel and a hospitality management training program on its campus. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will serve …
LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) has agreed to sell its Las Vegas properties and operations, including The Venetian Resort Las Vegas and the Sands Expo and Convention Center, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $6.2 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE: VICI) will acquire all of the land and real estate assets associated with the Venetian for $4 billion in cash, representing a capitalization rate of 6.2 percent. Affiliates of Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE: APO) will acquire the operating company of the Venetian for $2.2 billion, of which $1.2 billion is in the form of a secured term loan, and the remainder is payable in cash. The closing of the transactions is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Regarding the sale, Sands says it plans to focus on reinvestment in Asia and pursue new growth prospects. “Asia remains the backbone of this company and our developments in Macao and Singapore are the center of our attention. We will always look for ways to reinvest in our properties and those communities,” says Robert Goldstein, chairman and …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Hodges Ward Elliott, a hospitality brokerage firm with offices across the country, has arranged the sale of four Omni Hotels & Resorts in Texas. The hotels are located in the metro areas of each of the state’s four largest markets: Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The hotels were sold as part of a five-property, 1,729-room portfolio transaction, with the fifth hotel located in Jacksonville, Fla. John Bourret, Daniel Peek, Austin Brooks and David Auer of Hodges Ward Elliott represented the seller, TRT Holdings, the Dallas-based owner-operator of the Omni family of brands. The undisclosed buyer plans to renovate and rebrand all five hotels.
DALLAS — Locally based hospitality investment firm NewcrestImage has purchased the Magnolia Hotel, a 325-room hotel located at 1401 Commerce St. across the street from AT&T’s headquarters office in downtown Dallas. The historic 29-story building was originally constructed in 1922 as the headquarters for Magnolia Petroleum and was redeveloped into a boutique hotel in 1999. NewcrestImage purchased the property from Denver-based Stout Street Hospitality for an undisclosed price. John Bourret, Daniel Peek, Austin Brooks and David Auer of Hodges Ward Elliott brokered the deal.
BARTLESVILLE, MCALESTER AND LAWTON, OKLA. — Extended Stay America (NASDAQ: STAY) has opened three hotels totaling 291 rooms in Oklahoma. Dallas-based Provident Realty Advisors owns the properties, and Plano-based Aimbridge Hospitality manages them. The properties are located in the northern city of Bartlesville, the central city of McAlester and the southwestern city of Lawton. All hotels feature fitness centers and onsite laundry facilities.
Legendary Capital Buys 141-Room Courtyard by Marriott Denver-Aurora Hotel in Colorado for $27.9M
by Amy Works
AURORA, COLO. — Legendary Capital has purchased Courtyard by Marriott Denver-Aurora, a newly constructed hotel located at 255 N. Blackhawk St. in Aurora, for $27.9 million. The name of the seller was not released. Completed last year, the four-story hotel features 141 guest rooms, a business center, three meeting rooms, a fitness center, an outdoor patio with seating and firepit, valet laundry service and a two-story, 55,715-square-foot parking deck. Additionally, the first-floor lobby offers seating areas, a bar/lounge/bistro area and 24-hour front desk. Gordon Allred and Joshua Tammen of Marcus & Millichap’s Ontario, Calif., office handled the transaction. Adam Lewis of Marcus & Millichap serves as broker of record in Colorado.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based firm Caspi Development has topped out the Hotel Barrière Le Fouquet’s New York, a 96-room hotel that is being developed at 456 Greenwich St. in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. Upon completion in mid-2022, the eight-story hotel will house several food and beverage concepts, as well as a pool, spa and a screening room. Construction of the hotel, which will be operated under the French luxury brand Group Barrière, began in 2017.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — PEG Cos., a Utah-based investment and development firm, has acquired The Habitat Suites Austin, an extended-stay hotel located at 500 E. Highland Mall Blvd. in Austin. The company plans to convert the hotel into a Class B multifamily community. PEG plans to undertake a full renovation of the property, including the addition of new amenities like a fitness center and workspaces. Completion is slated for the summer.
DALLAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of the Comfort Inn North Dallas Galleria, an 82-room hotel located at 7815 LBJ Freeway that is operated under the Choice Hotels International brand. Chris Gomes and Allan Miller of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction. Both parties were private investors that requested anonymity.