DALLAS — After sitting vacant for 25 years, the 22-story Mercantile Commerce building located at 1712 Commerce St. in downtown Dallas, along with the neighboring building 1700 Commerce, are being redeveloped into three new downtown hotels with more than 425 rooms. NewcrestImage is the developer for the project. Phill Geheb of Munsch Hardt arranged financing for the redevelopment project. Construction is slated to begin next week for the hotels, whose brands include Residence Inn and Dallas’ first AC Marriot Hotel. The project received three forms of funding. The financing includes a $35.6 million construction loan, $7.8 million in federal tax credit equity and $8 million in state historic tax credit equity.
NEW ORLEANS — NewcrestImage, a Dallas-based hotel developer and operator, has purchased a 13-story office building located at 1600 Canal St. in New Orleans. The company plans to repurpose the vacant building into a 105-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott and a 78-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott. Built in 1960 and vacant for the past 10 years, 1600 Canal St. is located at the intersection of Canal Street and I-10, nine blocks from the French Quarter and adjacent to the new 1,500-acre, $1.2 billion BioDistrict development. The asking price for the office building was $6 million, but the sales price was undisclosed. The two hotels will share amenities, including a single lobby, registration desk, breakfast area and indoor bar. There will be a single management and sales team, as well as a single housekeeping staff. The rooftop will be renovated into an 8,000-square-foot garden overlooking Canal Street and will feature an outdoor bar, exercise room and laundry facilities. NewcrestImage plans to open the two hotels by December 2016. Upon completion, the dual-branded hotel building will be the first property to combine the TownePlace Suites and SpringHill Suites brands into one building.
DALLAS — Hill & Wilkinson General Contractors has broken ground on a $175 million redevelopment project in downtown Dallas. Both the historic Statler Hilton Hotel, built in 1956 and located at 1900 Commerce St., and the adjacent Old Dallas Central Library will be renovated to create an entertainment hub. The 702,615-square-foot project includes complete restoration of the buildings’ exteriors and the conversion of the upper 11 stories into 229 residential units. The five middle stories will be converted into 164 hotel rooms. Two lower floors will be converted into ballrooms, meeting rooms, hotel services, lobbies, restaurants and retail space. The Jackson Street and basement levels of the Statler Hilton and the library will be converted into a 250-car parking garage. Centurion American Development Group is the owner and developer. Merriman Associates/Architects Inc. is the architect, and Besharkhah Engineering Inc. is the engineer for the project. Centurion plans to apply for Historic Tax Credits, and the city of Dallas has provided $43.5 million in tax increment financing for the redevelopment, which is slated for completion in December 2016.
NEW YORK CITY — Soundview Real Estate Partners and Chartwell Hospitality are developing a two-building Marriott hotel at New York City’s John. F. Kennedy International Airport. The partnership has tapped Gene Kaufman Architect to design the 260,000-square-foot project, which Soundview and Chartwell plan to break ground on in 2016.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Sperry Van Ness International Corp. has joined forces with Raleigh, N.C.-based Howard Perry and Walston Commercial and Hotel Group (HPW Commercial and Hotel Group) to launch SVN Hotels, a national hotel brokerage franchise. Headquartered in Raleigh, the franchise will work with more than 25 advisors in more than 10 offices throughout the United States. SVN Hotels will specialize in working with owners and investors of all sizes from large institutions with multiple properties to private owners with single assets. Sanjay Mundra, who currently serves as CEO of HPW Commercial and Hotel Group, will serve as CEO of the SVN Hotels brand with Don Walston as chairman.
LOS ANGELES — Chatham Lodging Trust has purchased the 134-room Hilton Garden Inn Marina del Rey for $44.5 million. The hotel is located at 4200 Admiralty Way in the Los Angeles submarket of Marina del Rey. The property was converted from an independent hotel in June 2013 after an extensive renovation. The new owner says it will not need to make a major capital investment until 2020. The hotel includes the Marina Bar & Grill; two meeting venues and rooms; suites and loft-style casitas with private patios; and an underground parking garage that serves hotel guests and local visitors. Chatham funded the purchase through the assumption of a $22.6 million loan that carries an interest rate of 4.68 percent and matures in July 2024. The balance was financed with available cash and borrowings on the company’s revolving credit facility. The hotel is subject to a long-term ground lease that matures in December 2067. Island Hospitality Management will manage the hotel.
GREENVILLE, N.C. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has arranged a $14.3 million CMBS loan for The Hilton Greenville, a 141-room hotel located at 207 Greenville Blvd. S.W. in Greenville. The hotel is situated on the 32-acre Greenville Convention Center campus and is within two miles of East Carolina University. Scott Bois of KeyBank’s commercial mortgage group arranged the non-recourse loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
NEW YORK CITY — HREC Investment Advisors has arranged a $7.1 million loan for the acquisition of Comfort Inn Red Hook in Brooklyn. Located one block from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and Battery Tunnel, the hotel features 81 rooms. A bridge lender provided the capital. Geoff Davis and Mike Armstrong of HREC represented the investment group that purchased the hotel in the financing deal.
BERKELEY, CALIF. — AJ Capital has received $31.5 million in financing to acquire and reposition the 144-unit Hotel Durant in Berkeley. The hotel is located at 2600 Durant Ave. AJ Capital plans to rebrand the property as the Graduate Hotel. The Graduate brand is the first to cater exclusively to college- and university-anchored markets. It is targeted toward alumni and other college visitors. The Graduate portfolio was launched in 2014. It currently contains 1,355 rooms in nine university-anchored markets across the country. Jordan Ray, Ari Hirt, Steven Buchwald and David Behmoar of Mission Capital Advisors’ Debt & Equity Finance Group arranged the financing.
NEW YORK CITY — Devli Group has topped out the construction of a 44,000-square-foot boutique hotel located at 44 W. 29th St. in New York City’s Madison Square Park area. Designed by Gene Kaufman Architect, the 18-story hotel will feature 109 rooms. The property will include a sunken garden, a multi-level restaurant and lounge, a 740-square-foot rooftop salon and a total of 2,700 square feet of bar and lounge space. Studio Mai is designing the hotel’s interior spaces.