$3.5M Mezzanine Loan Closes for $56M Sugar Land Project

In addition to Regent, the key players are the City of Sugar Land, Stormont Hospitality of Atlanta and Crestline Hotels & Resorts Inc. of Bethesda, MD. Stormont is handling main development duties while a Crestline subsidiary will be the property manager. Stormont and Crestline Capital Corp. have kicked in equity in addition to the city ticketing $19.3 million for the conference center component.

The city will own the conference center and is leasing it for 99 years to the hotel owners. Southwest Bank of Texas is providing construction financing.

The hotel and conference center will be Fort Bend County's first full-service hotel. Reid Freeman, Regent's vice president of hospitality, tells GlobeSt.com that full-service hotels are very difficult to finance these days and the participation of a municipality is extremely beneficial in overcoming roadblocks. Regent and Stormont have worked together in public-private partnerships in Tennessee and Wichita, KS. Freeman says cities are finally realizing benefits far outweigh risks for such undertakings.

The Sugar Land Marriott will include 26,500 sf of meeting space, 15,500-sf ballroom, 184-seat restaurant and lounge, outdoor swimming pool and landscaped deck, health club, business center, boardroom and gourmet coffee shop. Cooper Carry Inc. of Atlanta is the architect and W.D.G of Dallas, the interior designer.

The three acres dedicated to the hotel and conference center are part of a $200-million, 32-acre, mixed-use town square project. Eventually, the development will contain 200,000 sf of retail space, 750,000 sf of class A office space and a new city hall. The town square is the brainchild of the city and Sugarland Properties Inc., the original land owner.