PALM BEACH, Fla., September 21, 2015—Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE: CLDT), a hotel real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing in upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded, select-service hotels, today announced that it has acquired the 134-room Hilton Garden Inn Marina del Rey in Ca. for $44.5 million, or approximately $332,000 per room.
“This property, located in the heart of the scenic Marina del Rey Harbor/Marina Beach area, adds another irreplaceable jewel to our portfolio,” said Jeffrey H. Fisher, Chatham’s chief executive officer and president. “The hotel is in the heart of the rapidly growing technology hub referred to as Silicon Beach, a five-mile stretch between Santa Monica and Playa Vista where technology stalwarts such as Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, YouTube, Sony, Belkin and Facebook have or are expected to establish a meaningful presence.
“Marina del Rey is an extremely high barrier-to-entry market,” he noted. “This was a complex transaction where we called upon all of our acquisition expertise, including a five-month ground lease and loan assumption negotiation. We have acquired approximately $190 million of premium-branded, high-quality, in-fill hotels through non-marketed transactions in 2015, increasing our hotel investments by approximately 16 percent and expanding our wholly owned portfolio room count by 11 percent.
The Hilton Garden Inn Marina del Rey hotel converted from an independent hotel in June 2013 after an extensive renovation and received the “Best Conversion Award” by Hilton in 2014. The property will only require minimal brand-mandated updates in the near-term and will require no major capital investment until 2020.
TripAdvisor ranks the hotel second in the Marina del Rey market. The hotel includes the popular Marina Bar & Grill; two versatile meeting venues and spacious rooms; suites and loft- style casitas with their own private patios; as well as an underground parking garage that serves hotel guests and visitors to the city.
The stylish hotel caters to business and leisure travelers given its close proximity to Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Play Vista, Los Angeles’ airport and downtown Los Angeles. The area is anchored by large, well-known, technology companies, in addition to a growing start-up tech community. Chatham estimates it acquired the property at a year one net operating income capitalization rate of approximately 8 percent.
“Silicon Beach is one of the major driving forces behind the significant job growth and office and commercial expansion occurring in western Los Angeles. Our hotel is perfectly-positioned to benefit from these favorable dynamics that are pushing lodging demand higher in the area,” emphasized Dennis Craven, Chatham’s chief operating officer and executive vice president. “Year-to-date RevPAR in Marina del Ray is up approximately 17 percent through July. We expect lodging demand to remain strong for the foreseeable future given the strong outlook for economic expansion in the market.”
Chatham funded the purchase through the assumption of a $22.6 million loan that carries an interest rate of 4.68 percent and matures in July 2024, with the balance funded from available cash and borrowings on its revolving credit facility. The company currently has $122 million available on its revolver in addition to eight hotels that are neither encumbered by long-term debt or pledged to the revolver. The hotel is subject to a long-term, ground lease that matures in December 2067. The hotel will be managed by Island Hospitality Management, which is 51 percent owned by Fisher.
