ORLANDO, FL—Riviera Point Development Group of Miami has secured a nearly $11-million loan and is raising additional financing for its dual hotel project being built on International Drive near SeaWorld here.
Miami-based Apollo Bank provided Riviera Point Development Group $10.7 million in construction financing for the project that will involve the construction of a La Quinta Inns & Suites and Tryp by Wyndham SeaWorld hotel. The loan will help fund the $32-million construction cost of the entire 3.3-acre development located less than two miles from SeaWorld and the Orange County Convention Center.
The development's first phase will consist of a 101-room La Quinta Inns & Suites and phase two will feature a 98-room Tryp by Wyndham SeaWorld. Riviera Point has already started site work for the four-story La Quinta and vertical construction is expected to begin in 45 days. The 53,094-square-foot hotel is expected to open in the second quarter of 2019. The hotel will include a fitness center, a pool and restaurant.
Construction of the 53,647-square-foot Tryp by Wyndham is scheduled to begin later this year and open in early 2020. Riviera Point officials state that Apollo Bank will increase the amount of the loan at the time construction of the Tryp by Wyndham begins.
Riviera Point officials say the firm has already raised $6 million in private equity mainly from Latin America and is raising another $12 million in EB-5 funds.
Riviera Point President and CEO Rodrigo Azpurua says, “When we started raising private equity mainly in Latin America to build the hotels, the investors' interest was overwhelming. They knew Orlando from visiting the parks and they wanted to play an active role in the evolution of this region by building and owning hotels on the popular International Drive.”
Eddy Arriola, CEO of Apollo Bank, says the bank was interested in financing the project due to the strength of the Orlando tourism market. “The strategic positioning of the hotel, the strength of the La Quinta and Wyndham brands and the bank's long-standing relationship with the borrower were important factors in arranging favorable loan terms for this project,” he adds.
Since 2012, Riviera Point has raised $68 million in EB-5 funds and successfully built five suburban office buildings in Doral and Miramar. Riviera Point is currently building a Radisson Red by Miami International Airport with EB-5 funds mostly from Latin American investors. As a result of those projects, more than 190 investors from Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina, among others, have obtained a green card.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
