AUSTIN, TEXAS — Home2 Suites by Hilton Austin North/Near the Domain is now open. The mid-tier, all-suite hotel brand is designed for business travelers and extended stay guests. Home2 Suites now has nearly 200 hotels in its property pipeline, with another 30 locations scheduled to open by the end of this year. Home2 Suites’ portfolio expansion into Austin, which brings 135 new hotel rooms to the state of Texas, comes on the heels of a major spike in demand for the extended-stay hotel product. Esperanza Hospitality LLC owns Home2 Suites Austin North/Near the Domain, which is located at 2800 Esperanza Crossing.
HANOVER, MD. — MCR Development LLC has completed the renovation of the TownePlace Suites by Marriott Arundel Mills BWI Airport in Hanover, roughly four miles from the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The 109-room hotel is located at 7021 Arundel Mills Circle. The renovation included updating the lobby with new furniture and carpeting, installing new lighting fixtures and updating the hotel’s signage. This is the eighth hotel in the metro Baltimore area that MCR Development has renovated in the past 10 months.
LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. — Hilton Worldwide has opened Hilton Garden Inn New York Long Island City/Manhattan View in Long Island City. As the city’s first Hilton Garden Inn, the hotel features 183 guestrooms, four meeting rooms totaling more than 1,410 square feet of flexible meeting space, and a presidential suite with a view of the Manhattan skyline. The guestrooms feature the brand’s signature bedding, a work desk with an ergonomic desk chair, mini fridges, microwaves and Keurig coffee makers. Additional hotel amenities include complimentary WiFi, 24-hour business center, fitness center and an indoor pool. The hotel is owned by CVR Hotel LLC and managed by Crescent Hotels and Resorts.
INDIANAPOLIS — Hilton Worldwide has signed a franchise license agreement with PK Partners to develop the 125-room Hampton Inn & Suites Indianapolis/Keystone. The five-story hotel will be located at 8980 River Crossing Blvd. in Indianapolis. PK Partners will own the property and Schahet Hotels Inc. will operate the hotel. Located in the heart of Keystone at the Crossing, adjacent to the River North at Keystone, Hampton Inn & Suites Indianapolis/Keystone will be part of a mixed-use development and within walking distance to the Fashion Mall at Keystone. The new hotel is set for completion in late 2016.
ALLEN, TEXAS — The Allen City Council has approved a development agreement with TCH Altera LLC for the construction of The Convention Center at Watters Creek, an $85 million facility. The convention hotel will contain 290 guest rooms, a 64,500-square-foot convention center and a 1,000-car parking garage on seven acres at Bethany Drive and North Central Expressway. Projected to open in January 2017, the center will become the largest convention and exhibition space in the north Dallas suburbs. The multi-entity agreement provides for the city, Allen Economic Development Corp. (AEDC) and Allen Community Development Corp. to jointly contribute $12.3 million toward the capital investment in the project and to provide additional operational support over time. The AEDC also will contribute the land, which it has owned since the 1990s. TCH Altera has arranged construction financing and anticipates breaking ground by the end of this summer.
ABERDEEN, MD. — Meridian Capital Group has arranged $13.6 million in bridge and construction financing for two hotels in Aberdeen, roughly 32 miles north of Baltimore via I-95. The borrower, Cross Roads Hospitality, will use the financing to reposition an existing property at 793 W. Bel Air Ave. as an 80-room LaQuinta Inn & Suites hotel and construct a new 98-room Hampton hotel. Tal Bar-Or, Beau Williams and Judah Neuman of Meridian Capital Group’s New York City office arranged the two-year bridge and construction loan through a national bridge lender. The loan features interest-only payments for the full term.
ASPEN, COLO. — The 179-room St. Regis Aspen Resort has received a $100 million refinance. The resort is located at 315 E. Dean Street, at the base of Aspen Mountain in downtown Aspen. The property was acquired by 315 East Dean Associates, led by Stephane de Baets, in 2010. The company has since invested about $50 million to renovate the five-star resort. The first mortgage was provided by an affiliate of KSL Capital Partners Credit Opportunities Fund.
WEST MONROE, LA. — Atlanta-based Hotel Equities has been selected to manage the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott under construction in West Monroe. The hotel is slated to break ground this summer and open in the third quarter of 2016. The hotel will be located near the University of Louisiana-Monroe and the Ike Hamilton Expo Center. The ownership group for the new hotel includes Jon Patel and Kevin Patel of Monroe, La., and Nimesh Zaver of Lake Charles, La. The group has 26 Louisiana hotels in its portfolio.
LANTANA, FLA. — Dockerty Romer & Co. has arranged $3.5 million in permanent mortgage financing for a 62-room Holiday Inn Express. The hotel is located on Hypoluxo Road in Lantana, a town in Palm Beach County. Michael McCleary of Delray Beach, Fla.-based Dockerty Romer arranged the 10-year loan with a fixed interest rate at 4.25 percent. McCleary arranged the loan through a South Florida-based bank on behalf of the borrower, Wahe Guru Group LLC.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. has secured $25.1 million in property level debt financing for the previously-closed acquisition of the 168-room Lakeway Resort & Spa in Austin. The financing has a two-year term and three, one-year extension options, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. The interest-only loan provides for a floating interest rate 5.1 percent. Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust focused on investing in the hospitality industry across all segments.