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HFF, a nationally known company that helps arrange financing for commercial real estate projects, has announced that it has secured $13.545 million in acquisition financing for the Ocean Plaza Beach Resort on Tybee Island.
Working on behalf of Linchris Hotel Corporation, HFF secured the floating-rate loan with M&T Bank. Linchris plans to spend approximately $1.5 million in the first year for property upgrades.
Harry Spirides, the outgoing owner of the 204-room resort, announced June 8 that he and his family – after operating the property for 50 years – had agreed to sell the hotel at the end of the summer season.
Spirides said Linchris, based in Hanover, Mass., had made an all cash offer that “exceeded everyone’s expectations” and planned to invest millions of dollars in improvements to the resort that was originally built in 1909.
Glenn Gistis, chief financial officer of Linchris, said at the time the company had been looking to expand to the South, and the Ocean Plaza “fit the bill.”
Because of Tybee’s long summer season, Gistis said, only minor repairs and refurbishing are expected this winter. A project management team will develop a longer term design plan, he said.
In the HFF news release, the company described Tybee Island as the closest beach destination to Atlanta, Augusta, Macon, Chattanooga and many other metropolitan areas. It said the six-building, 223,986-square-foot resort hotel sits on 5.12 acres and has a restaurant, lounge, meeting and banquet space, business center, two outdoor pools and a video game arcade.
”This acquisition represents Linchris’ second foray into the southeastern U.S. hotel market, with their recent acquisition of the Holiday Inn Daytona Beach being their first,” HFF managing director Greg LaBine said. “Linchris has had past success with independent, beach front hotels in Westerly, Rhode Island, and Provincetown, Massachusetts, so this acquisition will complement their growing portfolio well.
“M&T has financed Linchris previously and quickly got comfortable with the operational improvements Linchris can provide through their superior management to increase the bottom line performance of the asset.”
Headquartered in Hanover, Mass.,Linchris Hotel Corporation is a hotel management company that controls 31 hotels with more than 3,600 rooms.
Find more information at linchris.com.
ABOUT HFF
HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) and HFFS (HFF Securities L.P.) are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). HFF operates out of 23 offices nationwide and provides commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. For more information, go to hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter at @hff.
