LOS ANGELES — Meridian Capital Group has secured $5.5 million to refinance The Covell Building, a mixed-use property in Los Angeles. Located at 4642-4632 Hollywood Blvd. the two-story, 15,000-square-foot building features ground-floor retail space and Hotel Covell on the second floor. Tenants include Go Get Em Tiger, Covell Wine Bar and McConnell’s Ice Cream. The boutique hotel features individually curated suites, each featuring a customized theme. Seth Grossman and Andy Strauss of Meridian Capital arranged the 10-year CMBS loan, which features a fixed rate and full-term interest-only payments.
ATLANTA — F10 Hotels has arranged $48.5 million of interim first mortgage financing to refinance the TWELVE Midtown and TWELVE Downtown Marriott Autograph hotels in Atlanta. The TWELVE hotels were purchased in 2015 by Global Management & Investment, and after undergoing a $10 million renovation, joined the Marriot Autograph collection earlier this year. Collateral for the loan included the hotels, ground-floor retail and parking. The floating-rate loan was priced at LIBOR plus 250 basis points. The proceeds were used to refinance Global’s existing acquisition loan.
WILMINGTON, DEL. —Real estate investment firm Excel Group has acquired the 96-room Residence Inn Wilmington Downtown in Wilmington. The sales price was undisclosed. Located at 1300 N. Market St., the property opened this year and is the first new hotel in downtown Wilmington in more than 20 years. The purchase is the fourth major transaction for Excel Group in 2018, representing a total transaction volume of more than $100 million. The property is an all-suite hotel that offers studio and one-bedroom suites.
DENVER — CIT Group’s real estate finance business served as sole lead arranger of a $91 million senior secured loan. The funds will be used for the acquisition of the Sheraton Denver Hotel in downtown Denver. The borrower is a joint venture between High Street Real Estate Partners and Eagle Four Partners. Located on along the 16th Street pedestrian mall, the hotel features 1,231 guest rooms and 133,000 square feet of meeting space.
The face of Louisville is changing rapidly, but it has leveraged what the state of Kentucky is historically known for best, bourbon. Louisville is a short drive from most of the legendary distilleries in the Commonwealth. However, the downtown Urban Bourbon Trail is booming with tourism and many brands actually distilling their spirits onsite. Jim Beam’s Urban Stillhouse, the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, Copper & Kings, Angel’s Envy Distillery and Rabbit Hole Distillery are locations where patrons can sample and buy their drink of choice and learn about the history of these companies and the evolution of the industry as a whole. Most recently in June, Brown-Forman Corp. opened its Old Forester Distilling Co. experience at the newly restored Whiskey Row on Main Street. The company is not only distilling and sharing its history at the site, but like others on the Urban Bourbon Trail there are areas to host receptions and parties. Duluth Trading opened next door on Whiskey Row late last year to begin to fill a growing need for retail space downtown. Convention Center, Hotels After two years being closed, earlier this month Louisville celebrated the reopening of the $207 million renovation and reconstruction of the Kentucky …
PHILADELPHIA— Ballard Brands, a Covington, Louisiana-based restaurant and hospitality group whose brands include PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans, WOW Café and New Orleans Roast Coffee & Tea, has expanded its restaurant holdings to include several Latin American concepts in Philadelphia. Brothers Paul, Steven and Scott Ballard of Ballard Brands recently purchased Philadelphia-based Garces Group — which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year — resulting in the inception of IdEATtion Hospitality. The brothers purchased Garces in partnership with Mississippi native Ronnie Artigues and Philadelphia investor David Maser. Garces restaurants and catering companies were founded by Chef Jose Garces, an Iron Chef and James Beard Award winner. IdEATion Hospitality now leverages the resources of two established brands, Garces and Ballard Brands. As part of the acquisition, the Ballards and their investment partners acquired several popular and award-winning Garces Philadelphia restaurants: Amada, Tinto, Village Whiskey, The Olde Bar, JG Domestic, Volvér and their full-service catering division, Garces Events. Chef Garces remains in a leadership position as chief culinary officer. Artigues will serve as CEO of the Philadelphia-based operations. “Chef Jose is a culinary expert who brings a renowned reputation and vision to our team and we’re thrilled for the new partnership,” …
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners (AJ) has purchased the Inn at USC, a 116-room hotel located near the campus of University of South Carolina in Columbia. The hotel will undergo renovations throughout its common areas in the spring. The hotel and common areas are expected to remain open throughout the renovation process. The hotel is set to become part of AJ’s Graduate Hotels collection next fall. This is the first planned hotel for Graduate Hotels in the Carolinas. Arpit Shah of CBRE represented the sellers, University Foundations and IMIC Hotels. The sales price was not disclosed.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Cronheim Hotel Capital (CHC) has arranged a $14.7 million loan for the refinancing of an Embassy Suites hotel property in Columbus. A national lender provided the loan, which features a locked rate of 4.44 percent, a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule. Kana Hotel Group, the borrower, acquired the 224-room property in 2015 and extensively renovated it.
DURANT, OKLAHOMA — Tutor Perini Corp. (NYSE: TPC) has been awarded the design/build contract for the Choctaw Casino & Resort Expansion project, which will deliver a 1,000-room hotel and resort complex in Durant, a city near the Texas border. Upon completion, the property will feature an expanded casino, multiple onsite restaurants, movie theaters and new retail space. JCJ Architecture and Friedmutter Group are the design partners. Design work is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2018 with substantial completion anticipated in the spring of 2021.
DETROIT — VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE: VICI) and Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: Penn) have purchased the Greektown Casino-Hotel in downtown Detroit for $1 billion in an all-cash deal. VICI Properties will be the majority owner, contributing approximately $700 million for the land and real estate assets. Penn National will supply the remaining $300 million for the operating assets. VICI Properties, a New York-based REIT, simultaneously entered into a triple-net lease agreement with Penn National. The lease will have an initial rent of $55.6 million annually for 15 years with four five-year renewal options. Greektown opened in 2000 and features over 10,000 square feet of casino space, about 2,700 gaming machines, three restaurants and a 400-room hotel. Greektown employs about 1,800 people. “We are proud to expand our partnership with Penn National and add Greektown to our growing portfolio of market-leading gaming, hospitality and entertainment destinations,” says John Payne, president and chief operating officer of VICI Properties. “As the only casino located in Detroit’s historic Central Business District, Greektown, and its 30-story hotel tower, are ideally situated.” The Detroit Free Press reports Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is the seller. Gilbert is expected …