IRVING, TEXAS — Valencia Group, a Houston-based hospitality firm, has broken ground on the Valencia Texican Court Hotel, a 136-room hotel located at the corner of West Las Colinas Boulevard and West Northwest Highway in Irving. The property will feature approximately 5,000 square feet of meeting space. Dallas-based BOKA Powell LLC is the architect for the project and Arch-Con Corp. is the general contractor, according to the Dallas Business Journal.
SAN ANTONIO — Hilton Worldwide and development partners Crockett Urban Ventures and Merritt Development Group are building Canopy by Hilton San Antonio River Walk, a 22-story, 195-room hotel in San Antonio. The property will be located at the corner of North St. Mary’s and Commerce streets in the city’s River Walk neighborhood. Amenities will include a restaurant with an outdoor terrace and 3,000 square feet of meeting space. White Lodging Services will manage the hotel, which is slated for a fall 2018 completion
ORLANDO, FLA. — Walker & Dunlop Inc. (NYSE: WD) has arranged $218.2 million in construction financing for JW Marriott Bonnet Creek, a 516-room luxury hotel and resort project in Orlando. The non-recourse financing represents 77.3 percent of the total project cost of $282 million, and comprises both senior and mezzanine debt. A partnership between Walker & Dunlop’s Miami capital markets team and SRF Ventures Inc., a New York-based real estate investment and advisory firm, provided the funds. The hotel will be situated on 10 acres near the Epcot section of the Walt Disney World Resort complex, with close proximity to local attractions such as Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios, as well as the Orlando International Airport. Designed by Dallas-based architecture and engineering firm Huitt-Zollars Inc., the project will also deliver a 1,000-space parking garage. Hotel amenities will include 50,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, a business center, luxury spa and fitness area and a lazy river with guest pools. “This was a very marketable deal with a great sponsor,” says Kevin O’Grady, managing director of Walker & Dunlop’s Miami capital markets team. “Structuring transactions like this is right in the bull’s-eye of our expertise, and we’re very pleased …
BEAUFORT, N.C. — Avison Young has arranged a $19.2 million construction loan for the development of a 133-unit Ascend Collection hotel in Beaufort. The hotel will be situated within the Front Street Village development on the coast of North Carolina. Bruce Whipple, Justin Piasecki and Ethan Blum of Avison Young structured the 18-month construction loan with interest-only payments and an interest rate of 5.5 percent. Following construction completion, the loan will convert to a three-year, fixed-rate, mini-permanent loan. At the end of the term, the loan will remain in place with a 25-year amortization schedule and the same interest rate of approximately 5.5 percent. Front Street Village is a 31-acre mixed-use property developed by Charles Oliver II, founder of Jetcraft. The three-story Ascend Collection hotel will feature an adjacent conference and special events space, bistro structure on the Front Street Village development, waterfront suites and 30,000 square feet of meeting space.
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — InfiniPower Hospitality Group has received $19 million in financing to develop a 261-room hotel in San Jose. The project will include a 147-room Residence Inn and a 114-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott. The 166,340-square-foot, four-story building will include an outdoor pool and patio area with a fire pit, enhanced fitness center, bar, complimentary breakfast area, guest laundry facilities and a 24/7 sundry shop, as well as 1,200 square feet of meeting space and a business center. The project is located in America Center, a 30-acre mixed use development located along the South Bay Freeway (Highway 237) in northern San Jose. Canyon Partners Real Estate provided the loan.
KEY WEST, FLA. — Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. (NYSE: SHO) has purchased the 175-room Oceans Edge Hotel & Marina in Key West for $175 million. The newly constructed, oceanfront hotel and marina complex is situated across 20 land and water acres on Stock Island and is the largest purpose-built luxury resort and marina in Key West. Sunstone purchased the asset from the developer, Singh Resorts, a hotel development and management firm headed by Pritam Singh. The hotel, which opened in January, will operate as an independent property and be managed by Singh Hospitality. Oceans Edge has 86 suites, all of which have private balconies and views of the Atlantic Ocean. The hotel’s rooms are spread across four buildings and have an average size of 470 square feet, which are among the largest hotel rooms available in the Key West market, according to Sunstone. The hotel also features six swimming pools, a full-service restaurant, waterfront bar, on-site water sports and paddle shop and a fitness facility. As part of the transaction, Sunstone also acquired a combined 52 wet and dry boat slips and amenities in the attached marina, which offers direct deep channel access to popular fishing spots off the coast. …
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Korman Communities and Rockefeller Group have opened AVE Florham Park, a flexible-stay residential community located at 90 Park Ave. in Florham Park. The 256-unit community is designed for extended-stay business travelers and individuals in transition. AVE Florham Park features 65,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity space, including courtyards, a pool, fire pits, 24-hour business center, conference room, media theatre, spa room, a 3,600-square-foot fitness center and a 24-hour resident service team. The property is located within The Green at Florham Park, Rockefeller Group’s 268-acre master-planned development.
IRVING, TEXAS — The Buccini/Pollin Group, a hospitality and management firm with offices throughout the Mid-Atlantic, has acquired the 302-room Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel in Irving for $46 million. The hotel recently received $7 million in upgrades to its common areas, meeting rooms and guestrooms. Additional features include 25,000 square feet of meeting space in addition to a pool, exercise facility and business center. The seller was not disclosed.
ATLANTA — Woodbine Legacy Investments (WLI) has acquired W Atlanta-Buckhead, a 12-story, 291-room hotel in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. The sales price was not disclosed, but the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports the Texas-based private real estate fund, created by Woodbine Development Corp. in June, acquired the asset for $73 million. Mark Elliott and Todd Ratliff of Hodges Ward Elliott brokered the transaction. W Atlanta-Buckhead is home to Whiskey Blue, a rooftop bar and Cook Hall restaurant. The hotel also features a 24-hour fitness center, yoga and barre classes, an infinity pool and 11,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. W-Atlanta Buckhead marks the second acquisition for WLI.
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. — HREC Capital Markets Group has arranged a $6.2 million senior loan for the refinancing of a La Quinta Inn & Suites, located at 100 Congress St. in Springfield. The hotel features 208 guestrooms. John Siska of HREC’s Boston office negotiated the loan for the borrower, a private owner-operator. A local community bank provided the financing.
