$20M Financing Deal Closes for Suburban DC Hotel

GAITHERSBURG, MD-A $20.3 million first mortgage closed for the purchase and upgrade of the Hilton Washington DC/North Gaithersburg Hotel. Columbus, OH-based RockBridge Capital LLC put the package together on behalf of a joint venture involving institutional real estate investor VEF Advisors LLC and Davidson Hotel Co. Developed in 1981, the 301-room hotel last underwent a renovation in 2001. As per Montgomery County records, the property carries a current assessed value of approximately $14.5 million.

In addition to its prime location on eight acres in the DC area’s high-tech corridor off I-270, the hotel offers such extras as 14,000 sf of meeting space, dining and lounging facilities, a swimming pool and a fitness facility. “The upside potential for the Hilton Washington DC/North Gaithersburg Hotel is tremendous, and represents a significant value enhancement opportunity for both VEF Advisors and Davidson,” says RockBridge managing director James T. Merkel. “We continue to see opportunity in many US markets for similar transactions, as interest rates remain low, hotel fundamentals strengthen and new development remains controlled.”