By Michelle Mitchell The Republic | azcentral.com Chandler’s Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort has a new owner and soon will have a new look. Interwest Capital, which purchased the historical property on Jan.28, plans a top-to-bottom renovation, including revamping guest rooms and meeting spaces and improving the golf course and grounds, said Karl Coleman, president of Interwest Capital. “Our goal is to have that finished this year so we can celebrate the centennial of the hotel,” Coleman said. The remodeling will not detract from the historic designation of the hotel, he said. “You don’t want to try to make it something that it’s not,” Coleman said. The hotel, which will remain a Crowne Plaza, will not close during renovation and all existing reservations will be honored, said Ashleigh Mason, director of development with GF Management. An affiliate of GF Management, Craz Associates LLC, is managing the resort. There will be no layoffs and the hotel is hiring at least seven positions, said Dina Lomango, regional vice president of sales and marketing at GF Management. Bob Van Bergen, who served as general manager on an interim basis, was replaced by Jeff Hammermeister after the sale. The San Marcos, which opened in 1913, has 250 rooms and 35,000 square feet of meeting space. President Herbert Hoover, dancer-actor Fred Astaire and other celebrities have stayed there. “There’s a lot of sentiment around this hotel,” said Teri Killgore, Chandler’s downtown redevelopment manager. “You talk to folks whose families have been here awhile, everybody’s had a wedding or a prom or a special, meaningful event there. “Getting that out of limbo is huge.” The future of the hotel, at Arizona Avenue and Chandler Boulevard, has been uncertain since October 2010, when it was taken over by a court-appointed receiver when San Marcos Capital Partners defaulted on a $23.9 million loan. San Marcos Capital filed for bankruptcy in March 2011. This $11 million sale to Interwest Capital is about 67 percent of what Guaranty Bank and Trust Company paid in November 2011 to foreclose the property in a trustee sale. The Interwest deal comes more than two years after the resort was taken over by the receiver, although those connected to the property had said publicly that interested buyers were moving forward on the property. “We went through numerous rounds where we thought that it was going to close up until the day that it didn’t,” Killgore said. Most recently, Kansas’ Ottawa University reportedly was interested in purchasing the property for a residential campus, although the hotel management company in January said the property would remain a hotel. “We were happy to have Ottawa, but we’re obviously excited to have it be a hotel,” Killgore said. Now that brides or executives considering the hotel for events or meetings do not have to worry about its future, hopefully bookings will improve, Killgore said. Chandler receives tax revenue from hotels, which represents about 1percent of the city’s budgeted revenue for this fiscal year. Interwest is not a newcomer to the area or to the San Marcos, Coleman said. The company had a contract to purchase the debt on the property, but the bankruptcy filing ended that agreement, Coleman said. “We think it has a ton of potential, just never quite had the ownership behind it,” Coleman said. Because of its previous interest in the property, Interwest was connected to accusations made against former San Marcos co-owner and general manager Frank Heavlin. Heavlin was accused by a law firm investigating him of pursuing a job with Interwest on company time while he still worked for San Marcos. Heavlin was fired in 2011 by the court-appointed receiver of San Marcos, Kirby Payne. “At some point, he basically said, ‘If you do end up owning the property, here’s my resume,’” Coleman said, adding that he has not communicated with Heavlin since he left San Marcos. Heavlin, who could not be reached for comment, is not now involved with Interwest or San Marcos, Coleman said.
↧
San Marcos Resort’s New Owner Plans Renovation of Property
↧
WT Grant Lofts’ Architectural Details Attracted Young Professional
By Patricia Wren Cleveland.com A 28-year-old attorney, Jack Bacevice, moved to WT Grant Lofts because of its unique architectural details and great amenities. His two-bedroom apartment features “20-foot-high ceilings, red brick around the fireplace, and exposed brick walls that have been painted.” He especially appreciates having an in-suite washer and dryer and an icemaker in his refrigerator. He had lived in downtown Cleveland while he was in college. He liked the urban lifestyle so much that he moved back downtown in November of 2011. WT Grant Lofts is located in a historic building at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 2nd Street. The building is just minutes from East 4th Street, Progressive Field, and Quicken Loans Arena. It’s a quick cab ride to Ohio City, Tremont, and Detroit-Shoreway. It has a Walk Score of 94 and a Transit Score of 87. “There’s an excitement about living downtown now,” he said. “I feel as if I’m in the center of everything.” He mentioned the opening of Horseshoe Casino Cleveland last year and Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center, slated to open this October. “I love living downtown; I can walk everywhere.” A civil litigator with the city of Cleveland, he walks to work, the courthouses, and sometimes to his apartment for lunch. Although he likes to support local chefs and enjoys going to many of downtown Cleveland’s eateries, Fahrenheit in Tremont is one of the restaurants that he frequents the most. “They serve bacon at the bar.” He also applauded Dante in Tremont, citing an experience when he and his three siblings took their parents there for a family celebration. In addition to serving exquisite food, the restaurant owner/chef, Dante Boccuzzi, walked among the tables and talked with the customers. And, he later sent a handwritten note to Bacevice thanking him for his business! He occasionally cooks at home and likes shopping at Constantino’s Market. He enjoys entertaining and invited his father and brother to watch this season’s Cleveland Indians opening game against the Toronto Blue Jays. An avid sports enthusiast, Bacevice calls himself “a die-hard fan of the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, and Ohio State University.” He grew up in Lyndhurst and went to St. Ignatius High School, where he played football. He also played football at John Carroll University until an injury stopped him from playing. Graduating from Cleveland Marshall Law School, he has practiced law for two years. “I find my job to be very fulfilling. It’s very people-oriented.” Because his father is also an attorney, Bacevice said he understood what practicing law would be like. “I knew it was what I wanted to do.” Located at 248 Euclid Avenue, WT Grant Lofts offers 73 studio, one-, and two-bedroom units. Coral Management Company LLC manages the apartment building. © cleveland.com. All rights reserved.
↧
↧
Interwest Capital Acquires the 149-room Tutwiler Hotel, Birmingham, Alabama
Hotel-online.com HRI Lodging Selected as Property Manager La Jolla, CA – June 6, 2013 – Interwest Capital Corporation is pleased to announce the acquisition of the historic Tutwiler Hampton Inn & Suites in the heart of Birmingham, Alabama. Interwest is excited to have engaged HRI Lodging Inc., a national leader in the hospitality sector, as management of the hotel adding another asset to their expanding relationship. The Tutwiler Hotel is the 6th hotel property in Interwest’s diverse commercial real estate portfolio. The Tutwiler Hotel was originally constructed in 1913 as the Ridgely Apartments by the Jemison Company. The property operated as a multifamily building until the mid-1980s when a major renovation was needed. In 1985, The Tutwiler Hotel was taken down to the supporting structure and refitted with an entirely rebuilt interior. From 2005 through 2007, The Tutwiler Hotel underwent a $9.2-million renovation that, among other items, added a top-quality restaurant and provided for upgraded guest rooms. The 149-room Hotel offers well-appointed guest rooms, 3,800 sf of meeting facilities, a fitness studio, a business center and a ballroom with seating for 200 people. A $2-million plan is in place to expand the event and banquet space to over 11,000 sf and update the Hotel’s accommodations. The Tutwiler Hotel is two blocks from the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, where approximately 1.5 million people attend conferences annually. The burgeoning Entertainment District surrounding The Tutwiler Hotel is expected bring new restaurants, entertainment venues, and businesses drawing an estimated six million visitors each year. About Interwest Capital Corporation Interwest Capital is a private equity firm specializing in the acquisition, operation, and repositioning of commercial real estate with an emphasis on multifamily and hospitality assets. With a national portfolio of approximately 2.8 million square feet, Interwest has become an industry leader through extensive experience restructuring significantly underperforming assets and has a strong track record of successfully repositioning historic properties. Interwest now owns six hotels with more than 1,000 hotel rooms across the United States. For more information about Interwest Capital, please call 858-622-4900 or visit www.interwestcapital.com. About HRI Lodging HRI Lodging, Inc. (HRIL) is one of the 50 largest hotel management companies in the U.S. with a current portfolio of 18 hotels and resorts spanning the continental U.S. By building alliances with major domestic and international investment firms, the organization pursues a dual mode growth strategy of managing independent, boutique properties as well as partnering with industry leading brands, including Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Starwood and Intercontinental Hotel Group. HRI Lodging is the hotel management division of New Orleans-based HRI Properties, a full-service real estate development company and a national leader in the adaptive reuse of historic structures. HRI’s mission is: Revitalizing Cities by Creating Diverse, Vibrant and Sustainable Communities.
↧
San Francisco’s Historic Galleria Park Hotel to Redefine Modern Luxury After $4 Million Restoration
The Wall Street Journal With roots dating back to 1860s, boutique hotel offers quintessential San Francisco experience SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 12, 2013– In August 2013, the 177-room Galleria Park Hotel will complete an 18-month, $4 million renovation to celebrate its rich heritage and enhance its stylish appeal to today’s discerning traveler. The Galleria Park Hotel is built upon the site of the former Lick House, recognized as the country’s finest hotel west of the Mississippi when it opened in 1862, and the Occidental Hotel, described as “Heaven on a Half Shell” in Mark Twain’s novel, “Roughing It”. The Lick House and the Occidental Hotel reigned as San Francisco’s Grande Dames until they were destroyed by the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. Their prime location gave birth to the Hotel Sutter, today’s Galleria Park Hotel, in 1911. The Galleria Park Hotel is the most historic property within the Joie de Vivre collection. “Throughout the decades, San Francisco’s grand sense of hospitality has survived and thrived to make it one of the world’s most popular destinations. We are honored to be part of this tradition and strive to be as relevant today as the Lick House and Occidental Hotel were more than 150 years ago,” comments James Lim, regional managing director for Joie de Vivre Hotels. The hotel exudes a timeless yet vibrant style, combining its original Art Deco and Art Nouveau design with contemporary elements and services for a one-of-a-kind experience. Key aspects of the renovation project include: – A chic redesign of the hotel’s guest rooms and suites. Updates include stunning accent walls, designer furnishings, Frette linens, large HD televisions and the installation of marble bathrooms with mosaic glass walls and rain shower treatments. The guest rooms’ high ceilings, expansive windows and jewel-toned color palette create an inspiring oasis for work or play. – The introduction of Franck Leclerc’s Gaspar Brasserie, where guests can savor French fare by celebrated chefs Brigitte Batson and Patrick Kelly in an inviting bi-level restaurant and bar showcasing an eclectic mix of vintage design pieces. – The creation of the Legacy Room, which will replicate the Hotel Sutter’s original speakeasy and feature historical memorabilia. – New landscaping and décor on the hotel’s outdoor Park Terrace – perfect for viewing the cityscape with a glass of wine. – Internet hardware upgrade providing a 500 percent increase in bandwidth – the highest available in San Francisco hotels. – Expansion of the hotel’s impressive collection of fine art prints and photography, ranging from the 1930s to the present, to all public and private spaces within the hotel. – State-of-the-art equipment in the Fitness Studio boasting floor-to-ceiling windows. The Galleria Park Hotel offers a hosted wine hour daily, complimentary Wi-Fi access and a pets-stay-free policy, welcoming dogs of any size with a bowl of organic biscuits. Rates start at $229 plus tax. A hidden gem favored by celebrities, statesmen and guests seeking style and comfort, the Galleria Park Hotel is centrally located in San Francisco at 191 Sutter Street — steps away from the Financial District, world-class shopping and cultural attractions. Click here for images of the Galleria Park Hotel. For more information, call 1-800-792-9639 or visit www.galleriapark.com. The Galleria Park Hotel is owned by Interwest Capital and managed by Joie de Vivre Hotels. Founded in 1987, Joie de Vivre manages 30 boutique hotels offering authentically local and eclectic experiences in California and Honolulu, Chicago and Scottsdale, Arizona. Joie de Vivre is a Commune Hotels & Resorts brand.
↧
Interwest Capital Acquires The Woodlands of College Station Student Housing Community
La Jolla, CA – Interwest Capital Corporation is pleased to announce its purchase of the 904-bed Class A student housing project known as The Woodlands of College Station. A management contract for an additional 440 beds was also included in the transaction. This acquisition proved to be exceedingly intricate and necessitated a delicate balance between financial, legal, and operational aspects. The underwriting and execution highlights Interwest’s ability to assemble highly-capable teams and complete complex acquisitions in record time. Interwest is excited to have engaged Campus Advantage, one of the largest student housing operators in the United States, to manage the property. The Woodlands of College Station is the 8th multifamily property in Interwest’s diverse, and growing, commercial real estate portfolio. The 43-acre property will continue to be operated as a by-the-bed student housing community due to its close proximity to Texas A&M University’s 50,000 students. About Interwest Capital Corporation Interwest Capital is a private equity firm specializing in the acquisition, operation, and repositioning of commercial real estate with an emphasis on multifamily and hospitality assets. With a national portfolio of approximately 3.25 million square feet, Interwest has become an industry leader through extensive experience restructuring significantly underperforming assets and has a strong track record of successfully repositioning historic properties. Interwest now owns eight apartments with nearly 2,000 units across the United States. For more information about Interwest Capital, please call 858-622-4900 or visit www.interwestcapital.com.
↧
↧
Stuart Tanz
President and Chief Executive Officer of Retail Opportunity Investment Corp.
↧
Melissa Sharick
Prior to joining Interwest Capital Corporation, Melissa was an acquisitions manager for a private opportunity fund where she oversaw or participated in the acquisition of close to $500mm in bulk and REO purchases across the US. Along with her experience in real estate acquisitions, she worked as an associate for Ohana Capital, a private equity firm exclusively focused on investing in search funds that, in turn, pursue acquisitions of profitable businesses with revenues of $5 to $50 million. Melissa received her MBA as well as MS in Real Estate from the University of San Diego where she was a Dean’s Merit Scholar. She graduated from UC San Diego with a BA in Psychology and focus in Economics. In 2009, Melissa was published in the Journal of Sustainable Real Estate as a research assistant to Dr Norm Miller in his paper “Do Green Buildings Make Dollars and Sense?”
↧
Interwest Makes Fifth Texas Acquisition
By Amy Wolff Sorter GlobeSt.com COLLEGE STATION, TX– SoCal buyer Interwest Capital Corp. has added to its Texas portfolio with the recent buy of the 904-bed Woodlands of College Station. The class A student housing complex serves Texas A&M University. According to the Brazos Central Appraisal District, the seller was a limited partnership based in Athens, GA. The appraisal district assesses the complex at $33.8 million. The good news when it came to the student housing property at 1725 Harvey Mitchell Pkwy. is that it’s close to 100% occupied and “pre-leasing for the upcoming 2013-2014 academic year has been incredibly strong,” comments Interwest investment analyst Justin Shifrin. Shifrin and Interwest vice president of acquisitions Scott Wittman tell GlobeSt.com that, from a strategic standpoint, the buy has enabled Interwest to continue its growth both in the student housing sector and in Texas, where it already owns three other multifamily properties.” Interwest has established a long history of identifying and underwriting complex and convoluted assets in growth-oriented markets,” Wittman notes. One of the markets is Texas, and Woodlands of College Station is the company’s fifth buy in the Lone Star State. “Complex” describes the challenges in acquiring this asset. Shifrin explains that buying Woodlands of College Station had a complex governance and organizational structure. “A total of 557 units were originally constructed, with a portion of the project dedicated as for-sale condominiums and the remainder as rental apartments,” he says. Because of this structure, Shifrin says getting the legal documentation and financial assessments for the common areas and privately owned units was challenging. Now that Interwest has closed on the five-year-old property, the next step is to complete furnishing the remaining units (half of the units as of now are leased on a furnished basis). Shifrin adds that common area upgrades are also planned.
↧
Jeff Kolessar
GF Management, a national hotel management company
↧
↧
Ronnie Morgan
Co-Chairman and CEO, Morgan Group Inc., a nationwide developer and manager of multi-family apartment communities
↧
Brandon Wolsic
Prior to joining Interwest Capital Corporation Brandon served as the Director of Finance and Asset Management of a privately held Real Estate Investment firm located in Beverly Hills, CA. He was responsible for a portfolio of commercial and residential assets valued in excess of $200 million. Brandon received his MBA from Pepperdine University with an emphasis in Finance and his BS from San Diego State University in Finance. He is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker.
↧
Interwest Capital Acquires The Destinations Living Portfolio One – Las Vegas, Nevada
La Jolla, CA – Interwest Capital Corporation is pleased to announce its purchase of the 1,113-unit senior housing portfolio known as Destinations Living One. A total of four properties were included in the $75,000,000 transaction: Destinations at Valley View, Destinations at Pebble, Destinations at Spring Valley, and Destinations at Oakey. This acquisition, in partnership with Angelo, Gordon & Co., was executed within one month of identifying the investment target. A diligent balance between financial, legal, and operational aspects were addressed in the abbreviated timeframe. Closing the transaction swiftly highlights Interwest’s ability to assemble highly-capable teams and complete complex acquisitions in short-order. Interwest is excited to have engaged CompassRock Real Estate, a firm with 30,000 units under management, to run the day-to-day aspects of the properties. The four Destinations properties represent Interwest’s 12th multifamily acquisition in its diverse, and growing, commercial real estate portfolio. The four properties will continue to be operated as age-restricted communities while they undergo capital improvements to keep the properties fresh and competitive. About Interwest Capital Corporation Interwest Capital is a private equity firm specializing in the acquisition, operation, and repositioning of commercial real estate with an emphasis on multifamily and hospitality assets. With a national portfolio of approximately 4.00 million square feet, Interwest has become an industry leader through extensive experience restructuring significantly underperforming assets and has a strong track record of successfully repositioning historic properties. Interwest now owns 12 apartments totaling 3,100 units across the United States. For more information about Interwest Capital, please call 858-622-4900 or visit www.interwestcapital.com.
↧
‘Jewel in the Desert’ glittering again in downtown Chandler
By Weldon B. Johnson The Republic | azcentral.com It was her wedding day, and the San Marcos Hotel was the perfect place for Dorothy Woods’ reception. Woods was set to marry Phillip Ruoff on April 25, 1959, at St. Mary’s Church, about a block from the home where she grew up on Washington Street near downtown Chandler. The reception was to be at the nearby San Marcos, the town’s longtime crown jewel, a place she describes as magical. Her special day was going to be even more special because she would change out of her wedding dress into her reception clothes in the hotel bungalow that once was the residence of Dr. A.J. Chandler, founder and namesake of her hometown. Hotel owner John Quarty, a family friend, offered what he believed would be the icing on the cake for the 22-year-old bride: transporting Woods from her home to the church and later to the hotel in the hotel’s limousine. It was a 1933 Cadillac with a 16-cylinder engine and an open compartment up front for the chauffeur. The car, which once belonged to Hollywood legend Joan Crawford, a former San Marcos guest, was a link to the resort’s star-studded history. An awe-inspiring place Splendor and mystique marked the early days of the San Marcos: an opulent playground, a hideaway for the rich and famous, a place that the common clay of an emerging Chandler, known for farming and ranching, would view from outside in an attempt to sneak a peek at those who lived lives that they could only dream about. The San Marcos has been part of special occasions for 100 years. When it opened on Nov. 22, 1913, the hotel was Arizona’s first true luxury resort, predating the more well-known Biltmore by 16 years, and it featured the first grass golf course in the state. Guests included Hollywood notables such as Crawford, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart. President Herbert Hoover spent a night there after he was out of office. When the A-list guests began to favor other Valley resorts in the 1950s, the San Marcos became an attainable special destination for southeast Valley residents who once could only imagine attending functions on the property. The hotel has been the setting for countless weddings, proms and balls. It has seen its share of hard times, too. It was closed for more than seven years after Quarty’s death in 1979, but it persevered even as ownership changed hands several times. And now at 100, the hotel’s future seems as bright as ever. A La Jolla, Calif.-based investment firm purchased the property last year and has pumped an estimated $5 million into renovations, timed for the San Marcos centennial celebration that began in November. The early years A.J. Chandler came to Arizona from Detroit to be the first veterinary surgeon in the territory. However, he became fascinated with irrigation technology, and soon his ambitions grew well beyond caring for animals. He began acquiring land. According to documents in the Chandler Museum archives, he purchased his first 80 acres in 1891. By 1900, he had an 18,000-acre ranch that he would subdivide and sell off to found the town. Chandler opened the townsite office on May 17, 1912, and 300 investors spent $50,000 on land that first day. At that time, the town consisted of three buildings: the office, a dining hall and a grocery store. But there was also a billboard advertising the future site of an elegant hotel. The San Marcos was named for Fray Marcos de Niza, the first European settler in the Valley in the 1500s. It was designed by Los Angeles architect Arthur Burnett Benton in the Mission Revival style that A.J. Chandler had grown fond of during his time in Southern California. Chandler’s vision was to build a “Jewel in the Desert,” a resort where winter visitors could rent a room or a bungalow, a multi-room dwelling that offered more space and privacy than a hotel room. They could take advantage of Arizona’s winter climate for activities like horseback riding and, of course, golf. The San Marcos golf course initially had oiled-sand greens. It was converted to a Scottish links-style golf course with grass within two years. For those who weren’t interested in golf, there were other amenities that were impressive for the era. The building featured distinctive arched windows, fitting with the Mission Revival theme. Upon entering the hotel lobby, visitors would see a grand staircase leading to the second floor. Early advertising for the hotel boasted that each room had electric lights and a telephone. All guest rooms also opened onto a patio or balcony, a rarity at the time. On top of the three-story building was a Japanese-style teahouse that gave guests stunning views of the surrounding desert and mountains in the distance. Ruoff recalls being fascinated by the hotel as a child. Walking to and from the movie theaters that her family owned in downtown Chandler, she would stroll past the hotel, where she often would pause to enjoy the lavish floral arrangements or the fragrant orange trees that lined the walkway between the guest bungalows leading to the golf course. “It was like a magical place,” Ruoff said. “You would never imagine you would ever stay there or that you would ever have any kind of an event there.” The people of Chandler found the guests of the hotel fascinating. While some celebrities came and went anonymously, that wasn’t always the case. The town newspaper printed lists of who had stayed there, including dancer/actor Fred Astaire, actress Gloria Swanson, former heavyweight champ Gene Tunney, painter Fritz Werner and the first Major League Baseball commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Frank Lloyd Wright stayed there. At one time, A.J. Chandler tried to get the world-famous architect to do a redesign of the hotel. John D. Rockefeller Jr. stayed there in 1931. During the tourist season — the hotel would close during the summer months in the early years — Ruoff said [...]
↧
↧
Local Firm Buys Las Vegas Senior Communities for $75 Million
By Lou Hirsh San Diego Business Journal Private equity firm Interwest Capital Corp., based in La Jolla, has purchased a four-property portfolio of senior housing communities in Las Vegas, totaling 1,113 units, for $75 million. Company officials said the acquisition was made in partnership with the New York-based private equity firm Angelo, Gordon & Co. The seller was CW Capital, acting as special servicer following loan foreclosures involving a prior ownership trust. The Las Vegas portfolio is known collectively as Destinations Living One and includes Destinations at Valley View, Destinations at Pebble, Destinations at Spring Valley and Destinations at Oakey. Interwest plans capital improvements and has tapped New York-based CompassRock Real Estate to oversee daily management of the properties.
↧
Interwest’s Vegas Acquisition
San Diego Source – The Daily Transcript LA JOLLA — Private equity firm Interwest Capital Corporation announced it has purchased a four-property portfolio of senior housing communities called Destinations Living One in Las Vegas, totaling 1,113 units, for $75 million. The properties are Destinations at Valley View, Destinations at Pebble, Destinations at Spring Valley and Destinations at Oakey. The four properties will continue to be operated as age-restricted communities while they undergo capital improvements. The acquisition was in partnership with Angelo, Gordon & Co., a New York-based private equity firm. Interwest has engaged CompassRock Real Estate, a New York-based firm with 30,000 units under management, to run the day-to-day aspects of the properties. The properties represent Interwest’s 12th multifamily acquisition in its real estate portfolio. Interwest specializes in the acquisition, operation and repositioning of commercial real estate with an emphasis on multifamily and hospitality assets. It now owns 12 apartments totaling 3,100 units across the country.
↧
Investors Buy Foreclosed Vegas Senior Housing Portfolio for $150 Million
By Alyssa Gerace SeniorHousingNews.com Interwest Capital Corporation along with Angelo, Gordon & Co. recently purchased a Las Vegas senior housing portfolio out of foreclosure in an approximately $150 million transaction. The 2,103-unit Destination Living portfolio includes eight senior communities, among them the 344-unit Destinations at Valley View, the 416-unit Destinations at Pebble, the 271-unit Destinations at Spring Valley, and the 82-unit Destinations at Oakey, which closed in mid-December. The remaining four properties closed on Thursday, according to Elliott Burrell, senior vice president of acquisitions for Interwest Capital, and the entire portfolio is about 90% occupied. CWCapital Asset Management sold the rental portfolio of age-restricted, 55+ communities out of foreclosure on behalf of the bondholders, who took a large loss on their investment, Burrell told SHN. Orion Residential of Chicago, financed partially by an affiliate of real estate investor Starwood Capital Group, had spent $243.5 million to acquire what was originally a nine-property portfolio in 2006 from the original developer, Carefree Holdings. Interwest’s acquisition was split into two parts, each with four properties and approximately 1,000 units, for a total of about $150 million. The oldest community was built in the late 1990s, according to Burrell, who says they’re all relatively new. Although the communities were bought out of foreclosure, they weren’t distressed, he adds. “Not a whole lot of capital has gone into them since around 2007, so we have a program to update the clubhouses, do some interior renovation, and keep them up,” he says. La Jolla, Calif.-based Interwest Capital is a private equity firm that specializes in the acquisition, operation, and repositioning of commercial real estate, particularly multifamily and hospitality assets. Acquisition partner Angelo, Gordon & Co. is a privately-held New York-based investment adviser that specializes in alternative investing and has approximately $25 billion under management. The terms of the joint venture have not been disclosed. CompassRock Real Estate will run the day-to-day operations of the four communities, which will remain age-restricted while undergoing capital improvements to keep them competitive with the market, Interwest said.
↧
‘Complicated’ Property Situations Provide the Opportunities for Interwest
PROPERTY: Private Equity Firm Gets in Good Markets for Less San Diego Business Journal By Lou Hirsh Interwest Capital Corp. looked far and wide — and among young and old — for commercial property investment opportunities during what turned out to be a busy 2013 for the La Jolla-based company. It finished the year by closing on the first portion of what would be a $150 million investment in a Las Vegas portfolio of eight senior housing communities. That came not long after it made a deal to acquire a 904-bed student housing complex in College Station, Texas, serving Texas A&M University, for an undisclosed price. (The complex has been appraised by Texas’ Brazos County at $33.8 million.) The transactions were calculated bets on two growing demographic segments. More importantly, Interwest Chairman and CEO Alex Roudi said , is that both deals fit the company’s longtime core strategy of seeking “value-add” transactions, in which it acquires the debt on properties whose prior owners encountered problems paying off loans, leading to delinquency and foreclosures. By dealing with lenders and special servicers, Interwest and its investment partners are able to acquire assets at a cost much lower than developing or acquiring the same type of property at current market prices. The low buy-in cost also enables the private equity firm to invest in renovating and repositioning those properties. Complicated Situations “We like these complicated situations, where we can find value in places where other people might not know where to look,” said Roudi, who founded the company in 2003. Its nationwide portfolio stands at around $850 million, with holdings across all commercial property sectors. Over the past two years, its largest investments have involved apartments and hotels in the western United States. Interwest recent completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of the historic Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort hotel in Chandler, Ariz., which it bought in early 2013 for $11 million. During 2012 and 2013, it invested in similar overhauls of historic hotels that it acquired in San Francisco, New Orleans and Birmingham, Ala., all under distress-related conditions. The company is anticipating another three years in which the national apartment market will continue to see rising consumer demand, with rents also increasing amid tight supply, Roudi said. Senior and college student housing have recently shown themselves to be among the more stable sectors within the apartment category. He said part of the reason behind its purchase of the Las Vegas Destinations Living portfolio — more than 2,100 age-restricted apartments, acquired in partnership with New York-based Angelo Gordon & Co. — is that residents 55 and over generally stay long-term in one place during their retirement years, until they need a higher level of medical care. The acquisition of the 904-bed Woodlands of College Station marked Interwest’s fifth buy in Texas, and Roudi said the company is planning to convert two of its earlier apartment acquisitions, in the Dallas and Houston markets, into college student-oriented housing. Universities like Texas A&M are seeing burgeoning enrollment amid academic program expansions, he said, and campus-adjacent student apartment vacancies tend to get filled quickly. Tougher to Find Bargains While Interwest’s annual investments have consistently ranged from $150 million to $180 million over the past few years, Roudi acknowledged that it has become increasingly challenging to find properties that meet its value-add, distress-focused buying criteria at a time when the overall economy is steadily improving. That’s especially true in relatively healthy markets like San Diego County, where Interwest has two properties — the mixed-use Viridian Lofts in downtown San Diego and the Monarch at Scripps Ranch apartment community. According to real estate data provider Trepp LLC, 3.08 percent of commercial property loan balances in San Diego County were at least 30 days delinquent as of January, down from 3.55 percent a year ago. That was much lower than the national rate of 7.25 percent, which is down from 9.57 percent a year ago. Roudi said his company over the next few years will be scouting locally and nationally for bargains on properties whose owners took out loans just before a real estate bubble burst as the recession hit. Many of those loans will soon be reaching their 10-year maturities, and some of those owners could face issues in refinancing their debt or otherwise be motivated to sell. “Everything is cyclical, but there are always opportunities out there,” Roudi said.
↧
↧
Stuart Tanz
President and Chief Executive Officer of Retail Opportunity Investment Corp.
↧
Chip Connelly
CEO, JDV Hospitality, California’s largest boutique hotel company
↧
Chandler’s San Marcos Hotel Golf Course Getting Facelift
Weldon B. Johnson The Republic | azcentral.com The San Marcos golf course is closed this summer as crews work to restore it to its original glory. Before there was grass in Arizona golf, there was golf at the San Marcos Hotel Golf Course. A.J. Chandler opened the hotel in 1913, the first building with electricity in the city that bears his name. Across the town square to the east was the hotel’s golf course, with nine holes on 100 acres. Playing the layout was a bit rougher than the life of luxury Chandler envisioned when he built the opulent resort that attracted a U.S. president, Hollywood celebrities and leaders of business: It had no grass. The course featured oiled-sand greens. Chandler came to Arizona from Detroit in 1887 to be the first veterinary surgeon in the territory. He didn’t serve in that role long. He quickly grew frustrated during the drought the state was experiencing at the time, but he became fascinated with irrigation technology. He applied that knowledge to his business ventures. Within two years, the golf course at Chandler’s “Jewel in the Desert” was converted to the first golf course in Arizona with grass. In 1928, the course was moved to its present site, 100 N. Dakota St., adjacent to what is now the Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort. Last year, the resort, which was showing its age, underwent an extensive renovation in time for its 100th anniversary. Now, the resort’s golf course, with its stately mature-tree-lined fairways where Hollywood legends Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart once teed off, is getting a much-needed makeover. It comes at a time when the golf industry is seeing courses close as the game suffers lingering financial difficulties from the recession and from problems attracting younger players. San Marcos golf managers are confident the renovated course will overcome the industry slowdown. It was shut down April 20 and will be closed through the summer. Changes are visible already on the course and inside the clubhouse. When it reopens in November, the golf course will feature expanded lakes from which a new pump station will feed an updated irrigation system. The old galvanized pipes have gone the way of golf clubs with wood shafts. The golf course will be more than just greener. Several tee boxes are being upgraded, and bunkers are being reshaped. While going over their scorecards, golfers may relax amid the new decor of the bar and grill in the clubhouse, which has been gutted. “We’re not replacing greens or replacing all of the tee boxes, that sort of thing,” said Greg Kinney, regional vice president of Touchstone Golf, which manages the San Marcos golf operation. “We’re not bringing in dirt and reshaping holes. But it will translate into excellent playing conditions. Resort-type playing conditions.” Even when it wasn’t in the best shape, the lush San Marcos Golf Course stood out among the Valley’s traditional golf courses. The par-72, 6,626-yard course was built nearly 90 years ago by Harry Collins with the help of Los Angeles architect William Watson, who helped design the Olympic Club courses in San Francisco, among others. The current clubhouse is not the original from 1928 — it was built in the mid-1950s — but pains are being taken to preserve its historic details, such as a rock wall and detailed wood ceilings in the dining room. The clubhouse will have a bar and grill, an upgraded pro shop and additional banquet space. Contractor Armand Milazzo of Development Services uncovered other hidden gems in the clubhouse that he hopes to incorporate into the new design. When the old carpet was torn out, for example, Milazzo discovered terrazzo tiles underneath. “It was like finding gold,” Milazzo said. “It’s going to cost more to restore the floor than it would for carpeting, but this owner has been great about establishing a good budget to do it right rather than cut corners.” Milazzo said an old storage room in the attic had been used as a poker room for Chandler’s movers and shakers. It had two secret panels that servers could pass through to bring food and drinks up to the players without interrupting the game. “We’re going to find some room in the budget to do something with this room,” Milazzo said. “It definitely adds to the coolness of this place.” Fans of the historic course need not worry about it losing its distinctive character. Among other elements, the signature mature trees will survive. “What everyone likes about it, the traditional layout, the historic significance of the course, will remain,” Kinney said. “We’re just changing a few things so the quality is there. When you hit the fairways, it will be as nice as any resort in town.” Since acquiring the resort and golf course in January 2013, Interwest Capital poured $8.5 million into refurbishments for the hotel and is spending another $3.9 million on the golf course. Las Vegas-based Touchstone Golf was hired this year to manage the course. Brandon Wolsic, senior asset manager at San Diego-based Interwest Capital, said the golf-course restoration was part of the company’s larger goal of bringing the San Marcos back to prominence. “We want to bring the golf course up to the position that the city of Chandler deserves and (San Marcos) guests deserve,” Wolsic said. “It was in such poor shape for so long. If you look at golf-course reviews, the golf course kind of fell off in the same way that the hotel had fallen off. But it’s such a cool course, considering the history of it. It was the first grass course in Arizona.” San Marcos Golf Course restoration To follow the progress of the San Marcos Golf Course restoration, visit www.facebook.com/SanMarcosGolfCourse.
↧