Hersha Hospitality Management Adds 1,000-plus Rooms to Portfolio

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Hersha Hospitality Management (HHM), a leading hotel management company that operates approximately 70 premium limited service, upscale, upper upscale and luxury lifestyle hotels and asset manages an additional 19 hotels,  announced that it has added more than 1,000 hotel rooms to its management portfolio, divided between third-party contracts and joint-venture hotels.

The company noted that it expects to double the size of its management portfolio in the next three years and detailed aggressive growth plans to achieve its goal, via third-party management, joint ventures and asset management assignments.

Among the company’s most notable recent additions are:

The reflagging and opening of the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel (top right photo)—HHM oversaw an $18 million complete make-over of an existing 312-room hotel and conversion to the Renaissance brand. “We literally took the hotel back to the walls and redesigned and programmed it to be state-of-the-art, introducing ground-breaking concepts for the Renaissance brand,” said Naveen Kakarla, HHM executive vice president.

“We consolidated three restaurants into a single concept with two private dining rooms, expanded the fitness center, and totally revitalized 20,000 square feet of meeting space, while simultaneously creating a new social gathering space.

“Renaissance is Marriott’s global lifestyle brand,” Kakarla said. “Guests want to have a new experience at each Renaissance that allows them to discover the unique character of their destination. The Renaissance Woodbridge more than delivers on that brand promise.

“We have managed the Sheraton JFK in New York City (bottom left photo) since its opening last year and have been asset managers of two Marriott full-service properties and a Hilton,” he added. “But with the Renaissance Metropark we were able to bring together our emerging expertise in upper scale with our relationship with joint venture partner American Properties Realty. The project came in on time and on budget and is outperforming its competitive set within months of opening.”

The opening of three Times Square hotels as third-party manager—HHM recently took over management of three new Times Square Hotels. The hotels, aggregating 582 rooms, include the Hampton Inn Times Square South, Candlewood Times Square and Holiday Inn Express Times Square.

Additional information about the Independent Hotel Collection may be found at www.indepedentcollection.com.


Media Contact: Chris Daly, Senior Vice President, Daly Gray Public Relations, ph: 703-435-6293
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HFF arranges $27.12M construction loan for to-be-built student housing project near University of Alabama

HOUSTON, TX – The Houston office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has arranged a $27.12 million construction loan for Sterling Crimson Apartments, a student housing community near the University of Alabama (top right photo)  in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

HFF associate director Cameron Cureton (bottom left photo) worked on behalf of the borrower, The Dinerstein Companies, to secure the construction loan through a regional bank. T

he Dinerstein Companies is a coast-to-coast full-service real estate and development company with a 50-year legacy of quality and success. Family-owned and operated for three generations, the company prides itself on a long-term commitment to quality.

Upon completion in August 2011, the Sterling Crimson Apartments will have 316 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units totaling 700 beds. Each bedroom will have a full bathroom and unit interiors will feature washers and dryers, full kitchens, internet, cable and a 42” plasma television wall mounted in every living room.

The clubhouse will include an internet café with a coffee bar, a fitness center with a separate spinning room, a tanning salon and a resort-style pool with a grilling area. The property is located at the corner of 10th Avenue and 14th Street on the southwestern edge of The University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa.

“Student housing remains one of the bright spots in the industry and continues to receive construction financing albeit challenging. Reports from the NMHC are showing enrollment is up at universities across the country and the demand for student-housing has not decreased, despite the downturn in the economy,” said Cureton.

Contacts:

Cameron Cureton, HFF Associate Director, (713) 852-3500, ccureton@hfflp.com
Kristen Murphy, HFF Associate Director, Marketing,  (713) 852-3500, krmurphy@hfflp.com

Acquisition Technologies moves to Westshore in Tampa, FL

TAMPA, FL--The Dikman Company, Inc. announced today that Acquisition Technologies has leased Suite 450 located at 1410 N Westshore Boulevard, (top right photo)  Tampa, Florida consisting of 4,243 SF.

Acquisition Technologies is a leading provider of lead generation and customer acquisition services to industry recognized brands in the healthcare, insurance, and education industries.

Ben Dikman of The Dikman Company represented the Lessee
 
Contact: Ben Dikman,  813/251-5288

NAI Realvest negotiates two new lease agreements totaling 4,875 SF at industrial centers in Orlando

MAITLAND, FL – NAI Realvest recently negotiated two new lease agreements totaling 4,875 square feet of industrial space at two Orlando industrial facilities. Michael Heidrich, a principal at NAI Realvest, negotiated both transactions representing the landlords.

4Evolution, an Orlando-based electrical contractor, leased unit 200-G with 3,000 square feet of industrial space at 7466 Narcoossee Rd. in the Airport Industrial Center, (top left photo)  where Airport Investment Properties, LLC of Columbus, Ohio is the landlord.

At Hanging Moss CommerCenter (bottom right photo)  located at 6124 Hanging Moss Rd. New York City-based El Neato, Inc. d/b/a Kona Ice, leased unit 320 with 1,875 square feet. COP-Hanging Moss, LLC of Maitland is the landlord at the center.

For more information, contact:

Michael Heidrich, Principal, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 mheidrich@realvest.com

Patrick Mahoney, President, NAI Realvest 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com

Beth Payan or Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 Lvershelco@aol.com

Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) Brokers Sale of 280-Units in Northwest Tampa, FL

TAMPA, FL— Atlanta-headquartered Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA), the largest privately held, full-service investment advisory brokerage firm in the nation focusing exclusively on the multihousing industry, recently brokered the sale of Lofton Place (top right photo) ; a 280-unit multifamily community located on an 17-acre site in one of the most desirable submarkets of Tampa. The property address is 5412 Deerbrook Creek Circle.

ARA Orlando-based senior vice president, Kevin Judd,(middle right photo)  ARA Boca Raton-based principal, Dick Donnellan, (middle left photo) and ARA Tampa-based vice president, Patrick Dufour, represented the seller in the sale of the class B+ value-add investment community.

“Lofton Place is a well-positioned community in an infill, high barrier-to-entry location,” said ARA Orlando Senior Vice President Kevin Judd.š “The property was built in 1988 and features one-, two-, and three-bedroom floor plans with an average unit size of 945 square feet.”

Lofton Place is a stabilized asset with strong historical operating performance and occupancy level. Lofton Place offers some of the best interior amenities in the market, including 9-foot and vaulted ceilings in select units, washer/dryer connections and fireplaces. In addition to the property’s individual unit features, Lofton Place’s community amenity package features a resort-style swimming pool, spa, sand volleyball court and fitness center.

Lofton Place was acquired by Northview Realty Group for $16,000,000 or $57,143 per unit and $60.47 per square foot. The property was 97% occupied at the time of the sale.

The transaction was financed by ARA Finance, a joint venture with CWCapital. ARA Finance leverages ARA’s on-the-ground multihousing brokerage expertise and CWCapital’s full suite of debt products including Fannie Mae DUS, Freddie Mac, and FHA Programs.š CWCapital is a vertically integrated commercial real estate finance and investment management company that has closed approximately $10 billion of loans since 2002 and services over $10 billion of loans in 48 states.

ARA Finance, in collaboration with Brush Island Investments, also sourced the joint venture equity from a private REIT.

The 10 year loan was 75% of the $16,000,000, $57,143/unit purchase price and the Borrower locked in a rate of 5.66% with the first two years interest only followed by 30 year amortization. Private funds were used for equity in the transaction.

Contact: Marti Zenor, mailto:mzenor@ARAusa.com,
561 561.988.8800 x112 Direct,  954.205.5207 Cell 561.988.8810 Fax

Bulls Capital Partners Completes Conversion of a Forward Commitment on a $3.4M HOPE VI Development in Atlanta

VIENNA, VA, Oct. 6, 2009 -- Bulls Capital Partners, LLC, a multifamily financial services provider and Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting & Servicing (DUS®) lender, today announced it has completed a transaction in the amount of $3,425,000 for the financing of Villages at Carver Phase V (top left photo)  in Atlanta.

Fannie Mae provided a credit enhancement for bonds through SunTrust Bank during the construction phase of the project. The development team is a joint venture of The Integral Group, LLC and H.J. Russell New Urban Development, LLC.

Villages at Carver Phase V, a 165-unit apartment development implemented by The Integral Group partnership, is part of a master-planned community designed to reflect the concepts of "new urbanism." The community, once fully developed, will include both rental and homeownership units as well as a YMCA and the Atlanta Braves Baseball Academy to create a community where people can live, work and play.

The property includes public housing units made available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's HOPE VI program, Low Income Housing Tax Credit units, and market-rate units. The $3,425,000 in financing through the Fannie Mae DUS program was a conversion of a forward commitment from a construction loan to permanent financing.

"We made a commitment to finance this property over two years ago as an important step in providing affordable housing to Atlanta," said Herman Bulls, (middle right photo)  President & CEO of Bulls Capital Partners. "To reach this successful conclusion, the Carver Phase V development team did an excellent job completing the construction and lease-up of this project during very demanding market conditions."

"Finalizing the financing of Carver V enables us to continue our commitment to providing quality affordable housing to the Atlanta community," said Vicky Lundy-Wilbon, Executive Vice President Development at The Integral Group.

 "Completing this project required an outstanding collaborative effort from our development team, the Atlanta Housing Authority and our financing partners. Bulls Capital Partners' professional demeanor and creative review were instrumental in closing this transaction."

"Fannie Mae continues to support the multifamily rental market during these very challenging times with financial products that benefit property investors, borrowers and communities in need of quality affordable housing," said Mark Van Kirk, (bottom left photo) COO and Co-Founder of Bulls Capital Partners.
 
Contacts:
Bulls Capital Partners, LLC , Herman Bulls, President & CEO, Herman.Bulls@bullscapitalpartners.com
phone: (202) 256-1814

Mark B. Van Kirk, Co-Founder & COO, Mark.VanKirk@bullscapitalpartners.com
phone: (703) 283-9700