Plasencia Advises $88M Sagamore Sale

(Carl Cronan is editor of Real Estate Florida.)

TAMPA, FL-The Plasencia Group, a locally based hospitality investment advisory firm, has guided the $88-million sale of the historic Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, NY by Green Island Associates to Sagbolt LLC. The firm cites the significance of the single-asset transaction as one of the largest of its kind in the past year, amid the worst financial markets since the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

“The tumultuous investment and credit markets, combined with the property’s complex array of components and resort amenities, made this an extremely challenging transaction,” says Lou Plasencia, TPG chairman and CEO. He adds that his firm was able to close the high-profile asset in a seasonally driven market with short due-diligence and closing periods.

The 70-acre Sagamore Resort, on Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains, includes a 100-room hotel and condominium units along with an 18-hole Donald Ross golf course, conference facilities, a marina and sailing school, a spa, and numerous food and beverage outlets. The resort, which dates back to 1883, underwent $75 million worth of renovations in 1983 after it was bought by Green Island, followed by another $20 million in upgrades starting in 2002.

Green Island Associates is a partnership of several private investors, while Sagbolt is affiliated with Ocean Properties Ltd. Hotels & Resorts. Plasencia and Stephen Kindl, managing director of TPG Capital Markets, represented Green Island in the transaction.