Barings Provides $180M Refi for Philadelphia Dual-Branded Hotel [Updated]
NKF arranged the financing for the new 51-story property
By Cathy Cunningham March 18, 2019 8:30 am
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Chestlen Development has landed a $180 million floating-rate loan from Barings to refinance the dual-branded W+ Element Hotel in Philadelphia, Commercial Observer can first report.
Newmark Knight Frank’s Dustin Stolly, Jordan Roeschlaub, Nick Scribani and Chris Kramer negotiated the debt.
The 51-story, 504,581-square-foot property—at 1441 Chestnut Street in Philly’s Center City neighborhood—is operated by Marriott and scheduled to open in October.
The asset—which is owned by Chestlen Development and being developed by Vine Street Matthews Development—is the first-ever W and Element dual-branded hotel, targeting a broad cross-section of travelers. The W Hotel component comprises 295 rooms on floors 32 through 49 and is positioned to attract high-end leisure travelers, while the Element by Westin comprises 460 rooms on floors 9 through 31 and caters to budget-conscious tourism.
“The combination of world-class hotel brands in a premier Center City location makes this a truly unique hotel development poised to capitalize on the multitude of demand drivers in the market,” Stolly said in prepared remarks. “The dynamic, award-winning partnership between Chestlen Development and Vine Street Matthews have built multiple market-leading hotels across the country and the W/Element adds another exceptional hotel to their resume.”
The hotel will include 25,000 square feet of meeting space and its amenities include a luxury spa, fitness centers, banquet facilities, a rooftop pool and lounge, and retail space along Chestnut Street
The financing replaces $160 million in construction debt on the property from 2015: a $100 million senior loan from Bank OZK and $60 million in mezzanine financing from Barings.
“Barings, on behalf of its client, provided a $180 million loan for the construction and stabilization of the W+Element Hotel in Center City, Philadelphia,” Ben Silver, the head of global real estate debt at Barings, said in prepared remarks. “Barings had previously provided a $60 million mezzanine construction loan which it has now merged into the newly originated $180 million senior construction loan. Barings has a strong relationship with the borrower and was happy to remain in this transaction.”
Officials at Chestlen Development could not immediately be reached for comment.
This story was updated to correct the loan amount.
