A joint venture of Cigna and Interstate Hotels Corp. has purchased the 508-room conference and leisure destination property in oceanfront Ponte Vedra Beach, FL from Resort Holdings I Ltd and PV Resort Inc. for $102 million or $200,787 per room.

New York-based Tishman Hotel Corp.'s investment banking group brokered the transaction, serving as financial advisor to the sellers. For Tishman, the deal capped off a banner 2000 production year that reached $773 million in transaction value. In the last four years alone, THC closed on $2.6 billion worth of debt and equity deals.

The buyers could not be reached for comment, but in a prepared statement, Gordon R. Watkins, THC senior vice president in the firm's Los Angeles office, calls the Sawgrass Marriott asset "one of the leading resort properties in the entire Marriott system, and as such attracted significant investor interest." Watkins feels the new owners will increase the property's future value and profitability by expansions and an aggressive management style.

Including the Sawgrass sale, THC has participated in four of the l5 largest hotel sale transactions in the United States last year. Among the deals were the $63-million sale of the 783-room Ilikai Hotel Nikko Waikiki in Honolulu in February 200, and the $143-million sale of the 548-room Ritz-Carlton Kapalua on Maui in September.

The Sawgrass offers 46,000 sf of meeting space, 99 holes of golf on six championship courses, three swimming pools, 11 professional tennis courts, a fitness center and spa services. The property is between Jacksonville, FL and historic St. Augustine, FL, about 200 miles north of Downtown Orlando.

Instant Insights /

Tishman Brokers $102 Mil Trophy Resort Asset Sale to Cigna JV in North Florida

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