Hospitality transactions are heating up across the country, including a crowdfunded sale in Georgia and the sale a hotel portfolio in Texas.
New Castle acquires Holiday Inn Resort Jekyll Island through crowdfunding
New Castle Hotels & Resorts (NCH), a hotel investment, development and management company, has acquired the 158-key Holiday Inn Resort Jekyll Island (pictured), located on more than seven acres of beachfront on one of Georgia’s southernmost islands, for $41 million.
New Castle partnered with online real estate investing platform Crowdstreet to raise equity for the deal. Through the New Castle offering on CrowdStreet, 346 people invested $15.2 million in the project. Bar Harbor Bank & Trust provided financing for the project.
The resort was built in two phases in 1950 and 1970 and underwent a comprehensive $100,000 per key upgrade in 2015. The property’s amenities include more than one-quarter mile of beachfront, an outdoor pool, kids pool and whirlpool, a playground, pool bar, coffee shop, fitness center and fire pits, as well as some of the largest oceanfront suites on the island.
Following the renovation, the resort will have 1,200 sq. ft. of function space with an ocean view patio, a unique offering on the island designed for meetings and social events, especially wedding celebrations.
HWE brokers sale of Avatar Hotel Group portfolio
Hodges Ward Elliott (HWE), a leading boutique real estate capital markets advisor, arranged the fee-simple sale of the entire hotel portfolio for Avatar Hotel Group, comprising three select-service hotels in Texas with 280 rooms in total, to Wolfgramm Capital. Wolfgramm Capital also purchased and assumed Avatar’s management company.
In addition, HWE negotiated a separate transaction on behalf of Avatar selling a nearly three-acre development site in Plano, TX, pre-approved for a Home2 Suites development, to another buyer.
An HWE team led by Austin Brooks advised the seller in both transactions. The investment opportunity was initially marketed by HWE as a four-property portfolio, but was ultimately awarded to two buyers and split into separate transactions.
The three hotels in the Texas portfolio include the 109-room Fairfield Inn & Suites Waco North built in 2004; the 83-room Fairfield Inn & Suites Marshall built in 2005; and the 88-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites Dallas South Desoto built in 2007. The development site is just over 2.95 acres and is situated along the President George Bush Turnpike in Plano.
Driftwood Capital adds resort in Arizona
Driftwood Capital, a vertically integrated commercial real estate firm, has acquired The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch, a hacienda-style resort with 326 guestrooms located on 16 acres.
Built in 1976 as the first true conference center resort in the country, the property is located next to two 18-hole championship golf courses and has 90,000 sq. ft. of indoor-outdoor meeting and event space, two outdoor swimming pools, a spa and fitness center, three food and beverage outlets and an on-site UPS store. It is located within the planned community of McCormick Ranch, an affluent neighborhood featuring luxury homes, high-end shopping, golf courses, corporate headquarters and numerous walking and running paths.
Driftwood Capital plans to complete a multimillion-dollar renovation that will convert the hotel to a Curio Collection by Hilton property. The renovation will completely transform all guest-facing areas of the hotel, including new food and beverage concepts; a complete revamp of the resort-style pool; and a new and expanded spa and fitness center.
Accredited investors will have the opportunity to invest in the hotel through Driftwood Capital’s DealDirect investment platform beginning in the second quarter of this year.
Renovations of the hotel will commence in the first half of this year and will include all guestrooms in the McCormick Building and The Stillman Building, which has not been renovated since 2003. The company’s management arm, Driftwood Hospitality Management, will oversee property renovations and operations.
Mission Hill Hospitality acquires 92-room Residence Inn in NY’s Hudson Valley
Mission Hill Hospitality, a KSL Capital Partners portfolio company focused on transforming select-service and extended-stay hotel investing, has acquired the Residence Inn by Marriott Kingston, NY, for an undisclosed amount. This is the 14th property added to the Mission Hill Hospitality portfolio since the company was launched last March.
Built in 2016, the four-story Residence Inn features 92 guestrooms, consisting of a combination of king bedroom studios and one- and two-bedroom studios. Amenities include a fitness center, indoor pool, outdoor patio with a fire pit and 24/7 sundry shop. Located directly off Route 9 West, the property is near Bard College, Green Acres Golf Club, Bluestone Wild Forest, Hunter Mountain and Belleayre Ski Center.
Marcus & Millichap arranges sale of NC property
Marcus & Millichap, a leading commercial real estate brokerage firm specializing in investment sales, financing, research and advisory services, arranged the sale of Days Inn & Suites by Wyndham-Siler City, a 40-room property located in Siler City, NC. The asset sold for $3 million, according to Benjamin Yelm, regional manager of the firm’s Charleston office.
Jack Davis, Chase Dewese, Eric Webster, Joce Messinger, Josh Williams and Milin Mehta, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Charleston office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The listing team also secured and represented the buyer, another private investor. Yelm, Marcus & Millichap’s broker of record in North Carolina, assisted in closing this transaction.
Built in 1999 and renovated in 2016, the two-story property’s amenities include a lobby lounge area, a dining room and an outdoor swimming pool.
Hunter Hotel Advisors advises on sale of property near Dollywood
Lee Hunter, COO, and David Perrin, SVP, Hunter Hotel Advisors, have closed on the sale of the Hampton Inn & Suites Pigeon Forge on the Parkway in the Great Smoky Mountains. The Ephant Group purchased the property from East TN & Nelson Holdings/Hospitality Investment Services.
The 100-room property sits on leased land in Pigeon Forge. It faces the parkway, the primary transportation corridor through the city, and is located near demand generators like Dollywood, Wonderworks and the Smoky Mountain Opry. The hotel has shown strong resiliency over the last two years and is expected to continue to thrive as the introduction of new supply to Pigeon Forge remains limited, the company reports.