BALTIMORE — The Mount Vernon Hotel located at 24 W. Franklin St. in Baltimore will soon be repositioned as the city’s first Hotel Indigo. Marc Tropp and Barry Dollman of Eastern Union Funding arranged roughly $14 million in acquisition and redevelopment financing through Virginia Heritage Bank for the conversion. EB5-investment firm Oriental Dolphins Investments provided an additional $6 million for the project. The development team for the 170-room hotel includes developer Shaffin Jetha of MVH Baltimore Hotel and general contractor Kinsley Construction. The project’s estimated completion date is spring 2015.
Southeast
RICHMOND, VA. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged $11.6 million to refinance two student housing properties serving students of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond. The two communities, NMJ Chesterfield Apartments and Stuart Apartments, total 132 rooms. Charles Cotsalas of NorthMarq Capital’s New York office arranged the 10-year loan with a 30-year amortization schedule through a CMBS lender on behalf of the borrowers, NWJ Chesterfield Apartments LLC and Stuart Apartments LLC.
MACON, GA. — Multi Housing Advisors (MHA) has brokered the sale of Ansley Village, a 294-unit apartment community located at 6435 Zebulon Road in Macon. The property, built in 2008, features a business center, fitness center, pet park, swimming pool, clubhouse, laundry facility, playground and media center. Robert Stickel of MHA’s Atlanta office represented the seller, a joint venture between MAA and Thackeray Partners, in the transaction. The buyer, Bluerock Real Estate LLC, is a national real estate investment firm based in New York City.
LOXAHATCHEE, FLA. — Avison Young has arranged a 5,700-square-foot lease at Groves Medical Plaza, a 22,000-square-foot medical office building located at 13475 Southern Blvd. in Loxahatchee in Palm Beach County. Gary Gottlieb of Avison Young represented the landlord, Groves Medical Plaza LLC, in the lease transaction with new tenant Prettelt Center for Family Health PA. The family practitioner will take occupancy at Groves in late 2014.
ODENTON, MD. — The Goldstar Group has purchased Shelter Cove Apartments, a 300-unit multifamily community in Odenton, for approximately $43 million. The apartment community is located at 537 Tranquil Court about three miles from Fort Meade, the fourth-largest military base in the United States. The property includes a clubhouse, outdoor swimming pool, 24-hour fitness center, children’s playground and tennis courts. Clifford Mendelson of Metropolis Capital Finance arranged private equity for the transaction, while Adam Randall of Berkeley Point Capital arranged debt financing through Freddie Mac. Robin Williams and Dean Sigmon of Transwestern represented the seller in the transaction.
MIDLOTHIAN, VA. — Robinson Development Group Inc. has commenced construction on a new 255-unit, Class A apartment community in Midlothian. The property is located within the 725-acre, mixed-use CenterPointe development. Construction is slated to wrap up in 18 months. BB&T will provide construction financing for the project. Robinson Development has formed a joint venture with Drucker & Falk LLC to develop the unnamed apartment community.
DURHAM, N.C. — Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has arranged the $12.5 million sale of Research Tri-Center North V, a 203,385-square-foot multi-tenant industrial facility situated within Research Triangle Park. The fully leased property is located at 3500 N. Tri-Center Blvd. in Durham. Stoltz Real Estate Partners LLC purchased the property from The Silverman Group. Chris Norvell, Scot Humphrey, Jackson Rives and Bill Simerville of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s capital markets group represented The Silverman Group in the transaction.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. — Akridge has partnered with Long Wharf Real Estate Partners to acquire 2800 Eisenhower Ave., a four-story, 116,000-square-foot office building in Alexandria’s Carlyle/Eisenhower submarket. The property is part of the Alexandria Tech Center, a nine-building complex than includes office buildings and two hotels. Matt Konrad of Akridge, along with Philip Murphy and John Schonborn of Long Wharf, represented the ownership in the transaction. Steve Gichner and Eric Berkman of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
FORT MYERS, FLA. — Tampa-based Aileron Capital Management has closed a $7.2 million loan for the construction of The Rose Gardens of Fort Myers, a 110-bed assisted living facility in Fort Myers. The property is located at 2117 Earl Road. Aileron provided a $4.5 million first mortgage and a $2.7 million mezzanine loan on behalf of the borrower, a Florida-based seniors housing owner and developer. The SBA 504 loan will convert to long-term permanent financing upon the completion of construction, expected for June 2015.
The U.S. hotel market continues to gain strength following the Great Recession, where in 2009, revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell by 17 percent making it the single-worst performing year in the history of the hotel industry. Atlanta, which is one of the top 25 hotel markets in the U.S., as defined by Smith Travel Research (STR), the hotel industry’s leading performance data provider, experienced a similar decline with RevPAR falling by 18 percent in 2009. Since that time, across the country RevPAR has grown at a compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4 percent. Atlanta’s RevPAR CAGR during this time period has been 6.1 percent. The main reason Atlanta’s recovery has trailed the nation is related to its average daily rate (ADR). Atlanta’s ADR CAGR has been just 1.3 percent since 2009 as compared to 3 percent for the U.S. Put simply, hotels in Atlanta have not been able to grow their average rate as much as the U.S. average coming out of the recession. The Atlanta hotel market, like other segments of the Atlanta real estate market, has historically tended to get overbuilt when times are good. While hotels often do not represent the “highest and best use” …