Dealmaker: Hall Structured Finance Closes $37M in Hotel Construction Loans
Hall Structured Finance, Dallas, closed two hotel construction loans totaling $36.7 million in Glendale, Calif. and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
In California, Hall closed a first lien construction loan totaling $17.6 million for an Aloft Hotel expected to open in May 2019. Local developer Michael Tchakmakjian is building the six-story hotel.
“Glendale and the surrounding area is one of the healthiest hotel markets in the country,” said Hall Structured Finance President Mike Jaynes. “And The Aloft is located within walking distance to major corporate and regional headquarters.”
The Aloft Hotel will be an 85-key full-service hotel with more than 2,000 square feet of meeting space at the corner of Brand Boulevard and Dryden Street.
Hall also lent $19.15 million to redevelopment the Gale Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. The new 96-room boutique hotel is being developed by Newgard Development Group Founder Harvey Hernandez and Merrimac Ventures President and CEO Dev Motwani. The same partnership is also developing the adjacent Gale Residences, which received a $35.6 million construction loan from Hall in 2016.
Jaynes said The Gale Residences have already sold out since breaking ground in 2016, “and we think the hotel will be a success given the growing tourism market in Fort Lauderdale and the shortage of boutique lodging options.”
The Escape Hotel occupied the site from 1948 until the 1980s, when the property transitioned into assisted living facility Tiffany House until 2005.
Aztec Group Senior Managing Director Howard Taft and Executive Vice President Charles Penan sourced the financing for both phases of the project; Barbara Salk with BSmart Development, Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. led the negotiations and coordinated the closing for the partnership.
