MIAMI—Beyond Southeast Florida, cities on the other coast are also winning lender confidence. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites – 5th Avenue in Naples just secured first mortgage financing.
HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, Palm Holdings, to place the seven-year, floating-rate loan with BankUnited. Loan proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt and acquire additional hotels in Florida.
“We are seeing strong demand for hospitality from lenders,” Michael Weinberg, HFF director who worked on the transaction with associate director Scott Wadler and real estate analyst Anthony Frogameni, tells GlobeSt.com. “Performance for most hotel markets in Florida are at or above peak levels with strong fundamentals for future growth. “
The hotel is located at 1785 Fifth Avenue South in central Naples. The southwestern Florida city is nicknamed the “Paradise Coast” thanks to its 10 miles of beaches and reputation as a luxury destination.
The only mid-market branded hotel on 5th Avenue out of the Marriott, Starwood, IHG and Hilton brands, the property is within walking distance to boutiques, art galleries and restaurants. The hotel is also in addition 2.3 miles from the Naples Pier and Gulf of Mexico beaches.
“Palm Holdings did an excellent job acquiring a well-located asset, investing the capital necessary and converting the hotel from an independent to a powerful brand,” says Weinberg. “They ramped up performance quickly, and we able to place permanent debt at very attractive terms.”
Renovated and rebranded as a Holiday Inn Express & Suites in 2013, the four-story hotel has views of the Gordon River and Rock Creek's canal. Amenities include a heated outdoor pool with large deck area for sunbathing and hot tub, 24-hour business center, fitness center, 1,530 square feet of meeting space and complimentary breakfast.
“Lenders were attracted to the hotel's prime location at the gateway to Downtown Naples, the continued strength of the Naples lodging market and the departure of market seasonality,” says Wadler. HFF's Hotel Group has closed several hotels on Florida's Gulf Coast, including the $185 million sale of La Playa Beach Resort in May and sales of the Waldorf Astoria Naples (now Naples Grande Resort) and the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort. In May, the firm also closed the sale of the Mercato, a 456,359-square-foot, mixed-use retail lifestyle center in Naples.
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