DENTON, TEXAS — Hillwood, a Perot company, has unveiled plans for Landmark by Hillwood, a 3,200-acre mixed-use project in the northern Dallas suburb of Denton. The project team includes Hillwood subsidiaries Hillwood Communities and Hillwood Properties. The plans call for 900 acres of commercial space comprising 5 million square feet of retail, hospitality and entertainment space, approximately 6,000 single-family homes and more than 3,000 multifamily units. The site, which is situated at I-35W and Robson Ranch Road, was previously known as Hunter Ranch. The parcel is one of the original land holdings purchased by the Perot family in 1987. The property encompasses Pilot Knob Hill, the highest point in Denton, according to Hillwood. Once completed, Landmark by Hillwood will offer 1,100 acres of park and open space, including Pilot Knob Hill, as well as an interconnected trail system, recreation areas and public parks. Hillwood also plans to construct a series of learning parks, which aim to promote nature education and engagement and will be open to the public. Hillwood plans to break ground on the first phase of the project this September. Phase I will comprise 747 single-family lots, with models slated to open in spring 2026. Planning and leasing are already underway …
Hospitality
BOSSIER CITY, LA. — The Cordish Cos. has topped off Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana, a $270 million hospitality and gaming entertainment complex in Bossier City. The Baltimore-based retail entertainment owner and operator broke ground on the project in December 2023. Cordish Cos. and general contractor AnderCorp finished vertical construction at the property yesterday in a ceremony that included state and local officials. Scheduled to open in first-quarter 2025, the Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will feature more than 47,000 square feet of gaming space; a sportsbook for live betting on sporting events; an upscale 550-room hotel with a resort-style pool and fitness center; 25,000-square-foot events center; structured and surface parking; a 31-site RV park; and 30,000 square feet of dining and entertainment venues, including Cordish brands Sports & Social, PBR Cowboy Bar and Luk Fu. During the topping off ceremony, Cordish also announced two other additions to the restaurant lineup: Ridotto Grand Café and The Prime Rib steakhouse. Situated along the Red River, the project is expected to create 750 new construction jobs and 750 permanent jobs. The site was formerly home to the vacant Diamond Jacks Casino & Hotel, which Cordish Cos. acquired in 2023. Live Casino & …
NEWPORT, R.I. — KSL Capital Partners has received a $72 million loan for the refinancing of Hotel Viking, a 208-room hospitality property located in the coastal Rhode Island city of Newport. The hotel offers an indoor pool, fitness center and more than 14,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. A joint venture between Smith Hill Capital and Bain Capital provided the debt.
JLL Hotels & Hospitality Negotiates Sale of Home2 Suites by Hilton North Scottsdale Hotel in Arizona
by Amy Works
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — JLL Hotels & Hospitality has arranged the sale and financing of Home2 Suites by Hilton North Scottsdale located at 20001 N. Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale. Terms of the transaction were not released. Built in December 2022, the hotel features 130 guest rooms, a fitness center, outdoor pool, complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi, business center, electric vehicle charging, pet-friendly accommodations and 500 square feet of flexible meeting space. The guest rooms offer separate living and sleeping areas, functional living space, in-room flat-screen TVs and high-speed internet access. Ketan Patel and Melvin Chu of JLL’s investment sales and advisory team represented the seller, while Adrienne Andrews spearheaded the JLL debt advisory team that procured acquisition financing for the buyer from a regional credit union.
CHICAGO — Bally’s Corp. (NYSE: BALY) has released an updated permanent site plan for its $1.7 billion casino project in Chicago, a redevelopment of the former Chicago Tribune printing plant that will now be developed in a single phase. The property is located at 777 W. Chicago Ave. in the city’s River West neighborhood. Project plans now include a 34-story, 500-room hotel tower situated at the southern end of the 30-acre gaming and entertainment destination. The hotel — which was initially expected to be located elsewhere in the development — will feature a pool, spa, fitness center, sundeck and rooftop restaurant and bar. In addition to the hotel, the Bally’s Chicago Casino will include a 3,000-seat theater, six restaurants, a food hall and a two-acre public park. The casino will comprise 3,300 slot machines, 173 table games and VIP gaming areas. Additionally, a 2,000-foot extension of the riverwalk will connect the property to the riverbank. Design firm HKS prepared the new renderings. In May 2022, Bally’s was selected over competitors including Hard Rock International and Rush Street Gaming as the preferred developer of the project. Bally’s took possession of the land last week, and Brandenburg Industrial Service Co. is now preparing the …
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — Locally based general contractor Harvey Builders has completed the $21 million renovation of The Woodlands Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton, a 402-room hotel located about 30 miles north of Houston. All guestrooms and suites received new showers, tubs, flooring, countertops, mirrors and lighting fixtures, as well as bedding drapery and carpets. All common areas, including the lobby, restaurant, bar and meeting spaces, were also upgraded. Merriman Anderson Architects handled interior design of the project, which began in 2021 and was executed in four phases.
Walker & Dunlop Arranges $148M Refinancing for The Victoria Mixed-Use Tower in Harlem
by Katie Sloan
NEW YORK CITY — Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) has arranged the $148 million refinancing for The Victoria, a mixed-use property in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. At 30 stories, the property is the tallest building in Harlem. The Victoria is built around the neighborhood’s historic Victoria Theater and offers 191 luxury apartments, a 211-room Marriott-branded hotel and 23,000 square feet of retail space. The project was completed in the third quarter of 2023 and also features 52 below-grade parking spaces. Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Jonathan Schwartz, Adam Schwartz, Ari Hirt and William Herring of Walker & Dunlop’s New York capital markets team acted as exclusive advisors to the borrowers, Lam Group and Exact Capital. Aareal Capital provided the financing, which will support ongoing operations and future enhancements to the project. “This transaction underscores the project’s significance as a transformative development in Upper Manhattan, combining luxury living, hospitality excellence and cultural preservation,” says Appel. Bethesda, Md.-based Walker & Dunlop is one of the largest commercial real estate finance and advisory firms in the United States. — Katie Sloan
DALLAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 274-room dual-branded hotel in downtown Dallas. The hotel component of the building, which was constructed in 1910 and houses 237 apartments and 20,000 square feet of commercial space, consists of 132 rooms under the TownePlace Suites brand and 142 rooms under the Fairfield Inn & Suites brand. Shared amenities include an outdoor pool, fitness center, business center, 1,050 square feet of meeting space and a convenience store. Chris Gomes and Allan Miller of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, Butler Brothers Hospitality Group LLC, which will continue to own and operate the apartments and commercial space, in the transaction. The duo also procured the buyer, a joint venture between Lowen Hospitality and Vashee & Associates.
MIDLAND, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of an 82-room Wyndham-branded hotel in the West Texas city of Midland. The Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Midland is a three-story building that was developed between 2013 and 2014 and offers amenities such as a fitness center, business center and a guest laundry facility. Matt Omansky of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction. Chris Gomes, also with Marcus & Millichap, procured the buyer. Both parties were private investors that requested anonymity. Allan Miller of Marcus & Millichap assisted in closing the deal as the supporting broker.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — JLL has arranged a $430 million CMBS loan for the refinancing of Fairmont Austin, a 37-story luxury hotel tower located at 101 Red River St. in downtown Austin. The borrower, San Diego-based developer Manchester Financial Group, used the five-year, fixed-rate loan to replace a $300 million senior loan and $125 million of mezzanine debt, which Berkadia arranged in 2019. Spanning 1.4 million square feet, Fairmont Austin features 1,048 guestrooms and suites, nearly 140,000 square feet of meeting space, a full-service spa, five dining options, an outdoor resort-style pool deck on the seventh floor and a pedestrian walkway connected to the Austin Convention Center. The hotel is currently the fifth-tallest building in Austin, according to JLL. Manchester Financial Group delivered the Fairmont Austin in 2018. In addition to its direct connection to the convention center, the building is near Lady Bird Lake and the city’s premier neighborhoods including the Rainey Street District and East Austin. Tim Wright, Aldon Cole and Olga Walsh of JLL’s capital markets debt advisory team arranged the interest-only loan through Goldman Sachs, which acted as lead manager and sole bookrunner in the transaction. Walsh says the marketing process for the refinancing was “competitive” due …