CROMWELL, CONN. — Money360 has funded a $7.5 million bridge loan for a hotel in Cromwell. The financing allows the undisclosed borrower to utilize the cash-out loan proceeds for additional hospitality acquisitions. The 24-month loan features a fixed rate and interest-only payment options. The full-service hotel features 215 guest rooms.
HOUSTON — BBVA Compass, a Birmingham, Ala.-based bank, has provided a $28.1 million loan for the refinancing of Hotel Derek, a 312-room hotel located in Houston’s Galleria neighborhood. The hotel features a 24-hour fitness center, outdoor pool, more than 10,000 square feet of meeting space and an outdoor movie theater. Colby Mueck and Scott Hall of HFF arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, Lowe Enterprises Investors, a Los Angeles-based advisory and management firm. Lowe has invested more than $8.8 million in upgrades into the property since 2012.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Tavistock Development Co. has launched the Tavistock Hotel Collection, a hospitality portfolio that will include the previously announced Tavistock Town Center Hotel at Lake Nona Town Center and the newly announced Tavistock Lake Nona Resort. Both properties will be located at Lake Nona, the firm’s 7,000-acre master-planned community in Orlando. Tavistock Lake Nona Resort will be situated between the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club and the USTA National Campus. The hotel will feature a manmade crystal lagoon, rooftop lounge and a fitness and spa campus. Miami-based architecture firm Arquitectonica is leading the design of Tavistock Lake Nona Resort. Construction is expected to begin this year, with an anticipated opening date for 2020.
DAVENPORT, IOWA — Dougherty Funding LLC has provided a $5.3 million loan for the construction of a Candlewood Suites in Davenport, part of the Quad Cities. The extended-stay hotel will include 71 rooms. Amenities will include a fitness room, business center, market pantry, guest laundry room, outdoor patio and barbecue area. Completion is slated for late summer 2018. CW Davenport LLC was the borrower. Loan terms were not disclosed.
HOUSTON — Dallas-based hospitality developer and operator NewcrestImage has begun the redevelopment of the 195-room AC Hotel by Marriott in Houston. The building was originally developed in 1914 and has served as the headquarters for Gulf Oil, Texas National Bank of Commerce and The Houston Bar Center over the years. Upon completion, the 10-story property will feature a fitness center, business center and a cocktail lounge and dining area, as well as4,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space. The opening is slated for summer 2019. Arch-Con Construction is serving as general contractor.
FALLS CHURCH, VA. — Driftwood Acquisitions & Development LP, in a joint venture with Sefira Capital and Merrimac Ventures, has acquired the 407-room Westin Tysons Corner. The sales price and seller were not disclosed. The 11-story hotel is located at 7801 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church, roughly four miles southeast of Tysons Corner and 10 miles west of Washington, D.C. Westin Tysons Corner features 12,000 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, indoor pool, business center, valet parking and complimentary shuttle service to area attractions. In addition, the hotel houses restaurants including The Chop N’ Room, Starbucks Coffee, Blu Restaurant & Lounge and Sushi Nami. The hotel was renovated in 2015 and 2016. The new owners will invest in additional capital improvements to update all guestrooms and common spaces. Driftwood Hospitality Management will continue to manage the hotel.
OCEAN CITY, MD. — Cronheim Hotel Capital (CHC) and GEM Equity Markets (GEM) have arranged a $20.8 million construction loan for Cambria Resorts & Conference Center, a 133-room hotel that will be constructed on North First Street in Ocean City. CHC and GEM arranged the two-year loan through a consortium of Maryland-based credit unions on behalf of the developer, a joint venture between Ocean City-based Pinnacle Hospitality Solutions and Philadelphia-based The Wankawala Organization. Choice Hotels International Inc., owner of the Cambria brand, granted a 30-year franchise to the hotel developers.
Back in mid-2017, in a piece that was published right here in Heartland Real Estate Business, I talked about what might be in store for the remainder of the year. Specifically, I wrote that while “concerns about oversupply will likely persist in many [Midwestern] markets,” the outlook was not as grim as some industry analysts had been forecasting — a “second wind in the hotel sector” was “helping to calm the waters.” The general sense was that we would continue to see moderate growth. Happily for hoteliers across the Midwest, the market has played out fairly close to those predictions. A generally better-than-expected second half of the year didn’t allay everyone’s concerns, of course. I participated in an investor call recently with some of our lenders and their local analysts, and they were still talking about the threat of oversupply. They expressed some concerns about the prospect of the hotel boom in my home market of Chicago turning into a bust. Oversupply is a valid concern. From where I stand, however, the pattern over the past six to 12 months is not showing any real sign of changing. While the rate of growth has slowed slightly, the demand side of …
ATLANTA AND MEMPHIS, TENN. — Apple Hospitality REIT, a lodging investment firm based in Richmond, Va., has acquired two Hilton-branded hotels in downtown Atlanta and downtown Memphis for a combined $63 million. The Atlanta asset is the 119-room Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Atlanta-Downtown, located at 161 Ted Turner Drive N.W. The hotel is situated within walking distance to Centennial Olympic Park, the CNN Center, the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Memphis property is the 144-room Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Memphis-Beale Street, located at 175 Peabody Place. The hotel is located near the Beale Street Entertainment District, FedEx Forum, AutoZone Park, the Memphis Cook Convention Center, the Orpheum Theatre, the National Civil Rights Museum and Graceland.
MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — Ready Capital Structured Finance has provided a $5.5 million loan for the refinancing of a 32,000-square-foot hotel and condominium property in Miami Beach. Ready Capital provided the two-year, non-recourse, floating-rate loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower. The loan features one extension option and flexible prepayment. Of the 80 units, 13 are hotel properties and the remaining are condominiums. In addition, the property features 6,800 square feet of retail space and 19,000 square feet of garage space.