ORLANDO, FLA. — Walker & Dunlop Inc. (NYSE: WD) has arranged $218.2 million in construction financing for JW Marriott Bonnet Creek, a 516-room luxury hotel and resort project in Orlando.
The non-recourse financing represents 77.3 percent of the total project cost of $282 million, and comprises both senior and mezzanine debt. A partnership between Walker & Dunlop’s Miami capital markets team and SRF Ventures Inc., a New York-based real estate investment and advisory firm, provided the funds.
The hotel will be situated on 10 acres near the Epcot section of the Walt Disney World Resort complex, with close proximity to local attractions such as Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios, as well as the Orlando International Airport.
Designed by Dallas-based architecture and engineering firm Huitt-Zollars Inc., the project will also deliver a 1,000-space parking garage. Hotel amenities will include 50,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, a business center, luxury spa and fitness area and a lazy river with guest pools.
“This was a very marketable deal with a great sponsor,” says Kevin O’Grady, managing director of Walker & Dunlop’s Miami capital markets team. “Structuring transactions like this is right in the bull’s-eye of our expertise, and we’re very pleased with the outcome.”
DCS Real Estate Investments, a private development firm founded by home-building magnate Dwight Schar, will develop the property. Construction is scheduled for a fourth-quarter 2019 completion.
— Taylor Williams