REIT refinances Florida hotel

Published December 31, 2013 by Robert Powell, III

Williamsburg-based  SoTHERLY Hotels Inc. has announced the $57 million refinancing of the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood Beach, Fla.

The company has a 25 percent interest in the hotel through a joint venture with the Carlyle Group.

The Bank of America Merrill Lynch loan is collateralized by an interest-only, nonrecourse first mortgage on the hotel with a floating interest rate of the one-month LIBOR rate plus 3.95 percent. The loan matures in January 2016.

Proceeds from the loan were used to repay the existing first mortgage and to make distributions to the joint venture partners.

The company used about $3.5 million of its share of the distribution proceeds to extinguish its indebtedness related to the joint venture.

SoTHERLY Hotels Inc., formerly MHI Hospitality Corp., is a lodging real estate investment trust focused on the acquisition, renovation and repositioning of full-service hotels in the South.

The company’s portfolio consists of investments in 11 hotel properties, 10 of which are wholly-owned and comprise 2,372 rooms.

All of the company’s properties operate under the Hilton Worldwide, InterContinental Hotels Group and Starwood Hotels and Resorts brands.