ORLANDO, FLA. — Los Angeles-based Thorofare Capital has provided a $12 million acquisition loan for Four Points by Sheraton Orlando Studio City. The 301-room hotel is located on International Drive in Orlando and is directly across from Universal Orlando Resort. The seller, a New York City-based asset management firm, previously bought the defaulted CMBS note in a large pool and subsequently foreclosed on the prior owner. The non-recourse, fixed-rate bridge loan was sized to 80 percent of the purchase price. Thorofare capitalizes its transactions through a series of private closed-end funds on behalf of high-net-worth and institutional investors. Thorofare has funded in excess of $500 million across 26 states since 2011.
MINNEAPOLIS — Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire two hotels in Minneapolis for a total of $101 million, or $349,000 per key. The hotels include the 229-room W Minneapolis Hotel – The Foshay and the 60-room Le Meridian Chambers Minneapolis. As part of the transaction, Ashford will assume approximately $56 million of mortgage debt on the W Minneapolis Hotel. The assumed debt matures in May 2023 and carries a fixed interest rate of 5.4 percent. After closing, both properties will continue to be managed by Starwood Hotels. W Minneapolis features 6,700 square feet of meeting space, the open-aired Foshay Tower Museum and Observation Deck, a FIT gym, 24-hour business center and Manny’s Steakhouse. Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis offers 3,648 square foot of meeting space, a bar and restaurant, a fitness center, and more than 200 pieces of original contemporary artwork in the guestrooms and public areas.
HARTFORD, CONN. — Westport Capital Partners has acquired Goodwin Square, which includes a 30-story office tower and the Goodwin Hotel, in downtown Hartford for an undisclosed price. Bordered by Asylum Street, Ann Street, Pearl Street and Haynes Street, the 330,901-square-foot office tower is built over an eight-story, 302-car garage. The property was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and built in 1989. The 124-room Goodwin Hotel, which has been closed since 2009, totals 110,000 square feet and includes 24 suites, conference areas, a restaurant and a bar. The office tower and hotel are connected by a multi-story atrium. The name of the seller and the acquisition price were not disclosed.
ST. PETERSBURG BEACH, FLA. — HFF has arranged $26.1 million in post-acquisition financing for Postcard Inn, a 196-room boutique resort located on the beach at 6300 Gulf Blvd. in St. Petersburg Beach near St. Petersburg. Located on an 8.5-acre site along the Gulf of Mexico, the hotel features a junior Olympic-sized pool with towel service, more than 16,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, outdoor pool, table tennis, fire pit, arcade games, on-site parking, two fitness centers and three dining options including PCI Beach Bar & Snack Shack. The hotel was originally built in 1935 and underwent significant renovations in 2009. Dan Peek, Scott Wadler, Max Comess and Preston Reid of HFF arranged the five-year, floating rate loan through BankUnited on behalf of the borrower, CRP 6300 Gulf LLC.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — The Memphis office of Financial Federal Bank has arranged the $20 million refinancing of The Courtyard by Marriott in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood. Built in 2014, the hotel features 123 rooms. Rick Wood and Jon Van Hoozer of Financial Federal arranged the 10-year fixed rate loan with a 30-year amortization schedule through an unnamed national CMBS lender.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Kaufman Development plans to redevelop 78 residential units in the top 24 floors of LeVeque Tower in Columbus. Tower 10, a local investment group principally owned by Don Casto and Robert Meyers, purchased the 46-story building in 2011 and began immediate renovation work on the lower floors and exterior including facility upgrades, a lobby redesign and streetscape improvements. Kaufman’s residential units will include marble flooring, updated appliance packages, stone and quartz countertops, spa-like bathrooms, high-efficiency home technology and large closets with extensive shelving. Residents will also have access to a full floor of storage. The rental units will offer one-bedroom options ranging from 750 to 1,150 square feet, and two bedroom options ranging from 1,250 to 2,400 square feet. The condominiums will include both flat and duplex units. Occupancy is set to begin in the spring-summer season of 2016
HOUSTON — HREC Investment Advisors has arranged the sale of the 294-room Crowne Plaza Houston Northwest Brookhollow located in Houston. The buyer, Unique Hotel Management Group, is a regional hotel investor. The seller is a special servicer that acquired the hotel through foreclosure. Mike Armstrong and Hank Wolpert of HREC represented the seller during the transaction. The hotel is located in Brookhollow in northwest Houston on U.S. Highway 290 and is within a short drive to Houston’s Energy Corridor. The hotel is located near major shopping, sports and entertainment venues in Houston.
DEARBORN, MICH. — Savills Studley has been chosen to market the sale of the Royal Dearborn hotel and convention center in Dearborn. The 773-room, 854,000-square-foot hotel, located on 32 acres at 600 Town Center Drive, is across the street from the world headquarters of Ford Motor Co. The Royal Dearborn is the second largest hotel in Michigan. The hotel features 55,602 square feet of meeting and exhibition space comprised of a 17,000-square-foot grand ballroom, a rotunda and numerous meeting and breakout rooms. The hotel also offers two food and beverage outlets, an indoor swimming pool and fitness center, business center, gift shop and expansive outdoor parking. “There are numerous repositioning options for the property, including splitting the asset into two smaller hotels, or even reducing the size of the hotel component by converting the top floors to residential use and transforming parts of the ground-level space into retail,” says Marc Magazine, executive managing director of Savills Studley’s U.S. Capital Markets Hotel Group.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Concord Hospitality has sold the Renaissance and Hyatt House Raleigh North Hills hotels in Raleigh for a combined $109 million. Companies owned by an unnamed global investment fund acquired the two hotels through cash and an assumption of debt. The two properties anchor North Hills, a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use development that serves as a live-work-play destination for Raleigh residents and businesses. Concord will continue to manage the two assets under a long-term management agreement. Mark Elliott of Hodges Ward Elliott and Tom Ives of CBRE Hotels represented the seller in the transaction.
ST. PAUL, MINN. — Stahl Construction has begun interior demolition for a planned 149-room, five-story Hyatt Place hotel located at 180 Kellogg Boulevard East in the historic United States Post Office and Custom House building in the Lowertown neighborhood of St. Paul. The $19.7 million project will include remodeling of approximately 145,000 square feet on the first five floors. The hotel will be completed in spring 2016. Nelson Construction & Development hired Stahl to complete the hotel portion of the mixed-use redevelopment. The new Custom House will also include 202 luxury apartments on the upper floors as well as retail and commercial components. LodgeWorks Partners LP will operate the Hyatt Place upon completion.