Saturday, August 23, 2008

HFF secures $84M loan for Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, FL


MIAMI, FL – The Miami and Washington, D.C. offices of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) has arranged an $84 million renovation loan for the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, (top right photo) a 433-room hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

HFF senior managing directors Bob Donhauser (middle left photo) (HFF Washington, D.C.) and Paul Stasaitis (middle right photo) (HFF Miami), as well as senior managing director William Asbill (bottom left photo) and director Cary Abod (bottom right photo) (also in Washington, D.C.), represented an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group Global, LLC, which owns the property, in securing the three-year financing.

Loan proceeds, structured as a floating rate renovation loan, are being used to convert the Sheraton branded hotel to the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. The loan was funded by ING Real Estate Finance (USA) LLC.

The property, located at 321 North Fort Lauderdale Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, was originally completed in two phases in 1974 and 1980.
The renovation will result in dramatic exterior modifications, enhancing the views of the Atlantic Ocean, Intracoastal Waterway and the city of Fort Lauderdale. Plans to significantly refurbish the interior of the hotel will offer guests the new Heavenly Spa by Westin™ and Westin WORKOUT® fitness center.
The hotel will also refresh its signature restaurant, Shula’s on the Beach (the upscale steak house is expected to remain open for dinner service throughout the property-wide renewal).
Upon completion of the renovation, The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort will have significantly expanded flexible meeting and event space of more than 32,000 square feet including the 10,000-square foot Las Olas Ballroom, which will accommodate groups of up to 1,200 people.
Additionally, the resort will feature the 3,900-square-foot Sunrise Terrace with views of Fort Lauderdale Beach and the Atlantic Ocean.

“The success of the renovated hotel will be directly attributable to its irreplaceable location along State Road A1A. Starwood is tapping directly into the market’s need for additional meeting space in a resort setting, coupled with a perfectly suited flag for Fort Lauderdale Beach,” said Stasaitis.

“HFF implemented an extensive marketing effort on our behalf in order to obtain the best execution,” said Robert Geimer, senior vice president for Starwood Capital Group. “We are pleased with the options and creativity provided to us by HFF, which ultimately resulted in the ideal lender for our renovation.”
CONTACTS:

G. Paul Stasaitis, HFF Senior Managing Director, 305 448 1333, pstasaitis@hfflp.com/
Robert Donhauser, HFF Senior Managing Director, 202 533 2500, rdonhauser@hfflp.com/
Laurie Fish McDowell, HFF Associate Director, Marketing, 617 338 0990, lmcdowell@hfflp.com/

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