Hotel & Motel Management: Transactions

FINANCING

* Columbus, Ohio-based RockBridge Capital LLC announced it will continue to expand its construction/mini-perm first mortgage loan program. The program provides owner/operators one loan that automatically converts to a mini-perm upon completion. It has a term of up to seven years.

MANAGEMENT

* Delaware North Cos. Parks & Resorts was named the new management company for The Balsams Grand Resort in Dixville, N.H.

* Hospitality Management Corp. added the 200-room Radisson in Spartanburg, S.C., to its managed property portfolio. The hotel is owned by The Tabani Group.

* Interstate Hotels & Resorts signed management agreements to operate 22 upscale hotels acquired by a partnership consisting of a private investment fund managed by Goldman Sachs and affiliates of Highgate Holdings. The portfolio consists of 14 Wyndhams, two Hiltons, three Doubletrees, one Radisson and two independent hotels, totaling 5,895 guestrooms.

* Dallas-based Remington Hotel Corp. was selected to provide property-management and project-management services to the 157-room Hilton Santa Fe (N.M.).

* 3700 Associates LLC announced Hyatt Hotels Corp. as the operator of The Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The property will feature roughly 2,700 condo-hotel units.

ACQUISITIONS

* Ashford Hospitality Trust closed on the sale of the 70-room Best Western Dallas Telecom Area Suites to BM Capital Investment Group LLC for $1.35 million in cash. The property was marketed for sale by CB Richard Ellis.

* Boykin Lodging Co. closed on the sale of the French Lick Springs Resort and Spa in French Lick, Ind., to an unrelated third party for $24.4 million. The sale includes the hotel and the company's landholdings in Orange County, Ind.

* Ensemble Investments purchased the leasehold interest of the 195-room Coast Long Beach (Calif.) Hotel from Boutique Hotel Co.--Long Beach LLC for an undisclosed amount. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels arranged the sale on behalf of the seller.

* The Falor Cos. purchased Hotel 71 in Chicago for about $95 million from a partnership between AEW Capital Management and Boykin Lodging Co. The buyer plans to invest about $18.5 million in upgrades to reposition the property as a full-service condominium hotel. CB Richard Ellis was the exclusive broker on the deal.

* Hersha Hospitality Trust acquired the 136-room Hampton Inn located in Manhattan, N.Y., from an undisclosed seller for an undisclosed amount. The hotel will be operated by Hersha Hospitality Management.

* Host Marriott Corp. sold 85 percent of its interest in the Courtyard joint venture to Sarofim Realty Advisors for about $92 million. Banc of America Securities LLC served as financial adviser to Host Marriott in the transaction.

* Hotel Source sold the 228-room Howard Johnson Antiqua Bay Resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., to a private investment group for $4.5 million. The hotel was previously owned by Holidel.

* Kingdom Hotels Ltd., an affiliate of Kingdom Hotels International, purchased the 380- room Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto from Maritz, Wolff & Co. for an undisclosed amount. New York-based Sonnenblick-Goldman Co. arranged the sale on behalf of the seller.

* Lowe Enterprises Investment Management acquired the Dolce Hamilton Park in Florham Park, N.J., and the Dolce Tarrytown House In Tarrytown, N.Y. AEW Capital Management sold the properties for an undisclosed amount on behalf of one of its institutional clients. The properties will be renamed and managed as independent properties by Destination Hotels and Resorts.

* Oceans Resorts acquired the 80-unit Atlantic Las Brisas Inn & Suites in Daytona Beach, Fla., from an undisclosed seller for an undisclosed price. The buyer plans to start renovations in the next few months.

* Optimum Hotel Brokerage closed on the sale of the 93-unit Days Inn located in Niantic, Conn. The property was purchased by Bhagya Laxmi LLC from Niantic Hospitality for an undisclosed price. Optimum represented the seller in the transaction.

* The Plasencia Group and its affiliate Regent Street completed the sale of a 15-hotel portfolio on behalf of InterContinental Hotels Group. Thirteen hotels, valued at $425 million, were purchased by Hospitality Properties Trust, and two hotels valued at $303.5 million were bought by Strategic Hotel Capital. The 15 assets in the portfolio included InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites properties.

Compiled by Paul Rusnak, prusnak@advanstar.com