NASHVILLE, TENN. — Atlanta-based Songy Highroads LLC plans to develop a new 15-story Hyatt House hotel in Nashville. The Hyatt House Nashville West End will be located at the intersection of Hayes Street and 21st Avenue, about a block from Vanderbilt University, Saint Thomas Medical and Centennial Medical Center. Wakefield Beasley & Associates designed the hotel, which will feature Hyatt’s signature H Bar concept and a pool and fitness center on the fifth floor. Songy Highroads and its joint venture partner, an affiliate of Hyatt, plan to deliver the 201-room hotel in early 2019.
Hospitality
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — Axilla Capital LLC has secured an $11.9 million, non-recourse bridge loan for TRYP by Wyndham College Station, a 166-room hotel located at 1508 S. Texas Ave. near Texas A&M University in College Station. Joel Mazur and Tom Fleming of Axilla arranged the loan on behalf of an undisclosed borrower that acquired the property in 2015. Proceeds will be used to refinance the property’s existing debt and fund outstanding renovation costs.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Omni Hotels & Resorts has plans to implement a $26 million transformation of the 374-room Omni Charlotte Hotel located at the corner of South College and East Trade streets in Uptown Charlotte. Moncur Design Associates Inc. and CT + C Design Studio are spearheading the redesign, which features a new exterior, renovated lobby experience, updates to Trade Restaurant & Bar, new furniture in the guest rooms and suites, renovation of the 14th-floor club lounge and a rooftop pool deck and bar.
MISSISSSAUGA, ONTARIO — R&R Real Estate Investment Trust (R&R REIT) has agreed to acquire a portfolio of nine extended stay hotels in the Southeast and Midwest totaling 1,020 rooms for an aggregate purchase price of $35 million. The properties are currently owned and operated by entities controlled by R&R REIT’s Majid Mangalji and Michael Klingher. Five of the hotels operate under the HomeTowne Studios brand, and the remaining four operate under the HomeTowne Suites brand. The properties are located in Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Illinois and South Carolina. Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and Greenberg Traurig LLP acted as legal counsel to the REIT, and Raymond James Ltd. acted as financial advisor to the special committee charged with approving the portfolio acquisition. Following the closing of the acquisition, the REIT’s portfolio will comprise 10 hotels located in nine states.
ST. LOUIS — The first Element by Westin hotel will open in St. Louis in 2019. Midas Forest Park LLC, a subsidiary of Midas Hospitality, recently bought the current home of Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis located at 3763 Forest Park Ave. for $2.4 million. The 1.5-acre property will serve as the site for the $25 million hotel, which will consist of eight stories and 119,000 square feet. The eco-conscious hotel will be constructed with an efficient use of space and sustainability in mind, and include 153 extended-stay rooms, 10,000 square feet of retail space and a rooftop lounge. Amenities will include a fitness center, saline pool and bike program. Midas Hospitality will manage the hotel, while sister company MC Hotel Construction will serve as the general contractor. Gray Design is the architecture firm. Carrolton Bank provided acquisition financing. Midas will lease the non-profit organization space for up to one year while Habitat for Humanity relocates.
NEW YORK CITY — Silver Arch Capital Partners has secured a $30.4 million loan for the purchase of the Out Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The borrower, real estate management company Merchants Hospitality, has entered a partnership with hotel and restaurant branding company Cachet Hospitality Group to rebrand the 105-room, three-story hotel as the Cachet Boutique New York. A New York-based investment firm was the lender. Playboy Enterprises has partnered with Cachet to construct a Playboy Club franchise location on the property’s ground floor. Expected to open later this year, Cachet Boutique New York will feature an open-air garden and an outdoor spa. A central feature of the hotel, the Great Lawn, will be a 2,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor wine bar and meeting space. The Eden restaurant will provide on-site dining space. The property is located on West 42nd Street between 10th and 11th avenues. The Carlton Group’s Howard Michaels and Steven Weiss represented the borrower in the transaction.
STAMFORD, CONN. — UC Funds has acquired the Residence Inn by Marriott under construction in Stamford for $40 million. The property will be the only extended-stay hotel in downtown Stamford. Construction on the eight-story hotel is 60 percent complete, with delivery expected next winter. The 156-room property will include a fitness center, business center, breakfast area and meeting space.
Shamina Investments Receives $11.2M Acquisition Loan for Claremont Hotel Westwood in Los Angeles
by Nellie Day
LOS ANGELES — Shamina Investments has received an $11.2 million loan to acquire and renovate the 53-room Claremont Hotel Westwood in Los Angeles. The hotel is located at 1044 Tiverton Ave. in Westwood Village. The Claremont Hotel was built in 1939. The hotel will re-open the hotel in February 2018 as the Palihotel Westwood under the Paligroup hotel flag. Paligroup currently manages and operates four daily and extended-stay boutique properties in the Los Angeles area. The five-year, non-recourse loan was priced at a spread over the 30-day LIBOR. It includes structure for reserves to cover renovation costs, debt service and operating deficits prior to stabilization, according to Thorofare’s Felix Gutnikov, who originated the financing. The New York City office of Mission Capital Advisors LLC arranged the loan. The seller was a local family.
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Paramount Hospitality Management LLC and Batson-Cook Development Co. have broken ground on a $43 million dual-branded hotel at the corner of Church and State streets in Knoxville. The property will include a 144-room Courtyard by Marriott and an 88-room Residence Inn. The 166,544-square-foot hotel will feature a rooftop lounge, a bar and café in the lobby and a three-level parking deck. Paramount and Batson-Cook plan to complete the hotel in the third quarter of 2018.
Joint Venture Breaks Ground on $79M Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Odessa, Texas
by Katie Sloan
ODESSA, TEXAS — A joint venture between the City of Odessa, Eofficial Enterprises and Gatehouse Capital has broken ground on a Marriott Hotel and conference center in Odessa. The development will include a seven-story, 218-room hotel, 67,500-square-foot conference center, 365-stall parking garage and full-service Starbucks Coffee. Plans also include the refurbishment of Ector Theater, a historic performance and event venue originally built in 1951. The theater is located next to the new development. Construction is expected to take approximately 18 months, and will cost $79 million. Funding for the project will include $48 million from Sondra and Toby Eoff with Eofficial Enterprises, and $31.6 million from city officials. The development team includes general contractor UEB Builders; architect RTKL; hotel operator Aimbridge Hospitality; hotel brand Marriott Hotels and Resorts; structural engineer DCI; and interior designer Duncan Miller Ullman. Founded in 1997, Gatehouse Capital is a national real estate investment and development firm that has launched major mixed-use lifestyle developments, including hotels in the Hilton, Marriott and other brand families totaling more than $1 billion in completed development. — Katie Sloan