ST. LOUIS-Exactly five years ago (to the day) Behringer Harvard revealed that it acquired a majority interest in Chase Park Plaza, a 1.2 million-square-foot historic mixed-use property that encompasses most of a city block in the Central West End neighborhood here in St. Louis. The transaction, which was valued at more than $180 million, included $95 million for a planned renovation of the property. James Smith, a longtime, local part-owner, operator and developer of Chase Park Plaza, was the minority owner.
Now, the Dallas-based firm and Kingsdell LP has secured a $59-million refinancing for the building from Jones Lang LaSalle and Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels on the iconic property. The floating rate financing was secured through Prime Finance and will replace the existing debt that has come to maturity.
“The Chase Park Plaza is an irreplaceable luxury hotel that is on the cusp of capitalizing on the resurgence in demand and upturn of the St. Louis lodging market,” says Mathew Comfort, an executive vice president, who led the firm’s efforts on the transaction, along with SVP Keith Largay and managing director David Hendrickson and VP John Nugent. “Anticipated gains in the coming years represent a substantial opportunity for Behringer Harvard to capitalize on both increased RevPAR and NOI growth,” he adds.
Chase Park Plaza, dubbed a “city within a city,” according to JLL, features 338 hotel rooms, 82 condo units and 51 corporate apartments. Located in the vibrant Central West End of St. Louis, the property has five prime food and beverage outlets, 35,000 square feet of retail space that includes the Salon and Spa at Chase and a full-fledged athletic facility, according to a prepared statement. The property was fully renovated through a $200-million capital infusion into the guestrooms, common areas, residential tower and condominium units.
“This is an exceptional financing opportunity for Behringer Harvard. It’s not everyday that a mixed-use property like Chase Park Plaza comes to market,” adds Largay in a prepared statement. “This is a complex asset with multiple sources of incomes and we were able to secure excellent loan terms through a very creative competitive process.”
In other Behringer Harvard news, the firm previously revealed that it had used the proceeds of a $200 million term loan facility to refinance the 10 and 120 S. Riverside office properties in Chicago. The 21-story twin office towers are two of five properties owned by the company in Chicago, and the third local property that Behringer has recapitalized since June, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.
And in other Behringer news, Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT I Inc. just revealed that it has entered into a new co-investment partnership with Heitman LLC, a multinational real estate investment management firm with more than $23 billion in assets under management. As a result of the partnership, the Heitman-managed entity has acquired minority interests in 15 multifamily communities located in eight states comprising 4,100 apartment units, which is slightly more than one-third of the REIT's portfolio in terms of apartment units.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
