Orlando, Fl. [Dec. 06, 2018] Miami-based RivieraPoint Invest + Develop has officially topped off the 101-room La Quinta Del Sol, a dual brand hotel located on International Drive near SeaWorld. The top-off celebration took place this month while construction on the TRYP by Wyndham Seaworld continued to progress. Construction of the dual brand hotel, 3.3-acre project will cost $39 million.
The 53,094-square-foot La Quinta is expected to open in the second quarter of 2019. The four-story hotel will include a fitness center, a pool and restaurant. With a modern contemporary architecture, La Quinta’s Del Sol brand combines iconic brand elements with elegantly clean geometric lines. The select-service hotel will cater to midscale and upper-midscale travelers looking for a warm and comfortable experience at attainable rates. The 53,647-square-foot TRYP by Wyndham will open in early 2020.
“Our hotels will help accommodate the growing number of families coming to Orlando year after year,” said RivieraPoint Invest + Develop President and CEO Rodrigo Azpurua. “It is projected that 100 million tourists will visit Orlando by 2020. The demand for hotels with moderate room rates is enormous. We are glad to be able to help meet that demand, create jobs and inject millions of dollars in local and foreign capital into the Orlando economy.”
The dual brand hotel stands to benefit from the growing number of visitors going to Orlando every year. Orlando welcomed a record-shattering 72 million travelers in 2017, once again making it America's most visited destination, according to Visit Orlando.
Riviera Point is funding construction of the project with a $15.5 million loan from Apollo Bank, $6 million in private equity and $17.5 million in EB-5 capital. The EB-5 Investor Visa program allows foreign investors to invest at least $500,000 in job-creating projects in the U.S. in exchange for a green card. RivieraPoint Invest + Develop is one of the country’s most successful EB-5 developers. Since 2012, the company has raised more than $70 million in EB-5 funds and successfully built five suburban office buildings in Doral and Miramar, two fast-growing communities in South Florida. Riviera Point is currently building a Radisson Red by Miami International Airport with EB-5 funds. As a result of those projects, more than 260 investors have obtained a green card.
RivieraPoint develops hotels in areas with high barriers to entry and experiencing strong market fundamentals across Florida and the Southeastern U.S. LaQuinta in Orlando is a perfect example. The Orlando hotel market continues to grow and show strong fundamentals, according to Colliers International. In the first quarter of 2018, overall occupancy for Orlando’s hotel market reached more than 80 percent with the average daily room rate at more than $125 and revenue per available room at more than $100, according to a Colliers report.
