Riviera Point Secures Funding to Finish Hotel Near Airport
In addition to the Centennial Bank construction loan, Riviera Point has raised close to $6.5 million in private equity and $11.5 million in EB-5 funds for the construction of the Radisson RED.
MIAMI—Locally-based development firm Riviera Point Development Group reports it has secured the necessary funding to complete its Radisson RED hotel project near Miami International Airport.
Construction on the building commenced in December of last year. The hotel at 3401 NW 25th St., which was recently topped off, will feature 155 guest rooms. Riviera Point secured a $16.5-million loan from Centennial Bank, which will help fund the nearly $34.5-million cost for the new hotel that is being built on 1.1 acres.
Construction of the hotel, which will be the first Radisson RED built in Florida, is expected to be complete by the second quarter of 2019. Radisson RED is the upscale, select-service brand from the Radisson Hotel Group.
“We are fortunate to have Centennial Bank as our partner in this project,” says Riviera Point president and CEO Rodrigo Azpurua. “This hotel, which will cater to millennials, fills the void of hotel rooms in the area and repositions a neighborhood that, for the first time in decades, is receiving a significant injection of private investment.”
In addition to the Centennial Bank construction loan, Riviera Point has raised close to $6.5 million in private equity and $11.5 million in EB-5 funds for the construction of the Radisson RED. The hotel will feature three flexible event/meeting rooms, an outdoor pool, and a rooftop deck bar among other planned amenities.
The EB-5 investor visa program allows foreign investors to invest at least $500,000 in job-creating projects in the US in exchange for the US residency. Riviera Point has successful utilized the EB-5 program for a number of its projects in South Florida. Since 2012, the company has raised $68 million in EB-5 funds and successfully completed five suburban office buildings in Doral and Miramar utilizing the EB-5 program.
Riviera Point is also currently building a dual brand La Quinta Inns & Suites and Tryp by Wyndham near SeaWorld in Orlando with EB-5 funds. Riviera Point began construction on the La Quinta Inns & Suites earlier this year and is hoping to complete construction in 2020. The developer announced in April the project is fully funded. The hotel will be the first new La Quinta Del Sol design in the state of Florida.
The firm expects to begin construction on the Tryp by Wyndham hotel in 2019 and open the hotel for business sometime in 2020, according to the company’s website.
Because of Riviera Point’s projects, more than 190 investors with their families have obtained residence status in the United States, the company notes.