MIAMI BEACH, Fla./BETHESDA, Md.,
June 22, 2011—Urgo
Hotels, a major operator, developer and owner of upscale hotels, today
announced that it has acquired in a joint venture with The Carlyle
Group, a
global alternative asset manager based in Washington, D.C., two
landmark hotels
in Miami Beach, Florida for $26.7 million. The hotels are the
75-room
Blue Moon Hotel and the 71-room Winterhaven Hotel, both located in the
historic
art deco district in the heart of the fabled South Beach area.
Both properties are scheduled to undergo significant
renovations over the next six months, which will include upgrades to
the public
spaces and all guest rooms. The food and beverage operations at
both
properties will be repositioned as signature restaurants, which will
play a key
role in upgrading the ambiance at the hotels. The renovations
will be
done in phases to minimize disruptions to guests. Once completed,
the
hotels will be brought to “like- new” condition in the four-star
segment.
The acquisitions double Urgo’s Florida portfolio, marking
the 11th and 12th additions in the past 18 months.
“The Winterhaven and Blue Moon are irreplaceable properties and
locations that
we sourced off-market,” noted Kevin Urgo, principal of Urgo Hotels.
“This is our first joint-venture transaction with
Carlyle, and we look forward to the opportunity to build on this new
relationship,” Urgo added. “Joint ventures are an important
growth
vehicle for our company, as well as third-party management and
wholly-owned
acquisitions. Florida continues to be an acquisition market of
great
interest for us. We have considerable expertise in the state and
significant funds available and flexibility to acquire additional
assets.
We also continue to source attractive acquisition candidates throughout
the
U.S. and Canada.”
“We continue to have a keen interest in hotel
acquisitions and in partnering with top operators like Urgo Hotels,”
said
Carlyle Principal Thad Paul. “With more properties expected to
come to
market in the near term, our focus is on finding attractively priced,
quality
assets with repositioning and upside potential.”
Built in 1939 by Art Deco architect Albert Anis, the
Winterhaven is located across the street from South Beach’s famed
beachfront
park and boasts significant historic art deco features, as well as a
roof-top
sun deck overlooking the ocean.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The
Blue Moon was developed by Merv Griffin, who named the urban retreat
after the
Rogers and Hart ballad. Also situated within the Art Deco
district of
South Beach, the hotel features a refreshing splash pool, as well as an
indoor/outdoor patio restaurant and lounge.
Jordan
Ray, managing director of Mission, represented Carlyle and Urgo,
placing the
debt with a super-regional bank reentering both the lending market and
the
Florida market after a long hiatus. “This deal underscores banks’
interest in lending to premier sponsors again,” Ray said. “We
were
pleasantly surprised by the interest from regional banks in this
transaction.
It certainly expands our clients’ options prospectively for both
acquisition
and renovation projects.”
About
The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is a global alternative asset manager
with $107.6 billion of assets under management committed to 84 funds as
of
March 31, 2011. Carlyle invests across three segments—corporate
private
equity, real assets and global market strategies—in Africa, Asia,
Australia,
Europe, North America and South America, focusing on aerospace &
defense,
consumer & retail, energy & power, financial services,
healthcare,
industrial, infrastructure, technology & business services,
telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle
Group
employs more than 990 people in 19 countries. Web: www.carlyle.com; Case Studies: www.carlylegroupcreatesvalue.com;
Video: www.youtube.com/OneCarlyle
About Urgo Hotels
Urgo Hotels is a Bethesda, Md.-based hotel company that
develops, owns and operates 29 distinctive and unique hotels and
resorts,
aggregating nearly 4,123 rooms, in major markets and resorts in Canada,
the
Caribbean and the United States. The company develops, builds,
and
operates for its own account, as well as provides third-party
management and
asset management services. Additional information about the
company may
be found at www.urgohotels.com.