Lowe Enterprises Fund Invests $33M in Hotel

Located at 465 La Cienega Blvd., at the crossroads between Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills is the first property to debut under the SLS Hotels brand created by SBE, notes John Lustgarten, vice president of LEI, who represented the fund. "This is a market we know well and one where the luxury hotel sector continues to thrive," Lustgarten says.

The SLS hotel was formerly operated as the Le Meridien at Beverly Hills. SBE purchased the property in November 2005 and has undertaken a top-to-bottom redevelopment. The hotel will feature a Philippe Starck design, a culinary program by chef José Andrés and premier guest services. It will be managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. as part of the Luxury Collection.

Philip Peters, executive vice president of LEI and portfolio manager for the fund, describes the SLS property as "a solid fit with the loan criteria established for our fund." He adds, "It has a prominent position in one of the country's top hotel markets and a respected local ownership group." Peters points out that SBE "is renovating an existing hotel in an irreplaceable location, thus significantly increasing the value of what was an underperforming property."

Lowe Structured Investment Fund offers mezzanine debt and preferred equity for commercial, residential and hospitality properties throughout the US and Canada. Through its affiliates, LEI has previously bought or originated more than $500 million of structured debt investments, primarily on hospitality properties.

Los Angeles-based Lowe Enterprises is a national real estate investment, development and management firm. Over the past 36 years, it has developed, acquired or managed more than $9 billion of real estate assets nationwide. The firm is currently developing $3 billion of commercial and resort residential projects nationwide.