Dealmaker: LV Lending Closes $16M in Hotel Financing

LV Lending, Miami, arranged $16 million in financing for two Florida hotel assets.

In Hialeah, Fla., The Estate Cos., Miami, acquired a five-acre site occupied by a former Ramada Hotel at 1950 W. 49th Street for $15.25 million. An LV Lending team including Partners Camilo Niño and Ricardo Uribe and Commercial Director Alen Hernandez arranged $11.5 million in financing for borrower 1950 Hialeah Holdings LLC.

The non-operational 258-room Ramada hotel dates to 1970 with expansions completed in 1973, 1979 and 1988. The site is located adjacent to the Palmetto Expressway and the 103rd Avenue exit, providing visibility and accessibility.

The Estate Cos. Principal Jeffrey Ardizon said distress in the hotel sector has created investment opportunities that firms like his can capitalize on. “Not all sites are created equal, and buyers need to be nimble and flexible in order to ensure repurposed assets meet the current market demands,” he said.

In downtown Orlando, LV Lending closed a $4.5 million refinancing loan for a .9-acre vacant site at 322 E. Jackson Street. Niño, Uribe and Hernandez made the arrangements for borrower Monarch of Orlando, a Jaymor Group entity. The transaction closed on August 13th.

The Jaymor Group acquired the property in 2005 and received preliminary site plan approval to develop Monarch, a 28-story mixed-use building with 360 residential units, a 150-key hotel and 14,250 square feet of ground-floor retail space. All approvals are expected to be secured by the end of this year with groundbreaking slated for late 2021.