Downtown Orlando Hotel Scores $18M Refi

Aloft Orlando Downtown. Image courtesy of HFF

GDC Properties has obtained an $18 million refinancing for Aloft Orlando Downtown, a 118-key hotel in Orlando, Fla. HFF worked on behalf of the owner to secure the five-year, non-recourse, floating-rate loan from a national bank. 

Located at 500 S. Orange Ave., close to the City Hall, the property is near Interstate 4, with Orlando International Airport within a 20-minute drive. Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts is right across the street and the hotel’s guests have easy access to various shopping and dining venues in the vicinity.

GDC Properties acquired the historic eight-story Orlando Utilities Commission office building in 2012 and converted it into Aloft Orlando Downtown through an adaptive reuse project. The LEED Gold certified hotel, which opened in late 2013, features a gym, outdoor pool, business center, lounge and nearly 9,000 square feet of meeting space. 

Managing Director Gregg Shapiro and Senior Managing Director Michael Weinberg led the HFF team that represented the borrower in this deal. The funds will retire existent debt and fuel further investments in the hotel. 

Another Aloft-branded hotel is under construction roughly 14 miles south of the asset. In February, Meridian Capital Group secured $42 million in construction financing for the development.