Both loans were secured by Cohen Financial for "a prominent Marriott developer located in the Southeast," says Benjamin Greazel, a director in Cohen Financial's office in Skokie, IL. He would not reveal further information on the developer. Each of the loans was 75% loan-to-value, Greazel says.

The Residence Inn by Marriott opened earlier this month with approximately 130 rooms, he says. Countrywide Financial is the lender for the $14.5 million in permanent financing. The permanent financing is a non-recourse loan with a term of 10 years, Greazel says. The transaction closed earlier this month. The interest for the loan is less than 6% with only interest being paid for the first three years of the 10-year term, he says.

The Courtyard by Marriott will be constructed at the corner of Florida and New York avenues adjacent to the new 450,000-sf Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms National Headquarters. The loan is for the acquisition of the 31,107-sf infill property that the 218-room hotel will be constructed on, Greazel says. The hotel is expected to open in 2009.

Inland Bank of Illinois was the lender for the land acquisition loan, which closed in the fourth quarter of last year. The loan has a 7.75% interest rate and a term of six months with a six-month extension option.

Financing for hotels is favorable right now because of a strong hotel market for the past three years, Greazel tells GlobeSt.com. There has been a "strong appetite for hospitality products, especially large-hotel chain operators such as Marriott," he says.

Last year, Cohen Financial had more than $4.3 billion in total transactions and more than $4.6 billion in loan servicing. The firm has provided advisory services on more than $1.5 billion of assets since 2004.

Instant Insights /

Local Developer Building Two Outstate Hotels

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