TRT, JMI Get $140M in Financing for Omni San Diego Hotel

By Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor

TRT Holdings and JMI Realty, owners of the luxury Omni San Diego in the city’s downtown Ballpark District, have refinanced the existing debt on the hotel with a $140 million loan secured through HFF.

Working on behalf of the joint venture owners, HFF arranged the 15-year, fixed-rate loan through AIG Investments, according to an HFF release. The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Director Whitaker Johnson, James Fowler and Scott Hall, both managing directors, and real estate analyst Sarah Baccich.

Built in 2004, the 511-key, 200,000-square-foot hotel was renovated in 2013. Located across from the San Diego Convention Center, it is attached to Petco Park, where the San Diego Padres play. The Padres former owner, John Moores, heads JMI Realty, which is a subsidiary of JMI Services Inc. His firm is the master developer for the Ballpark District, a former area of light industrial and warehouse buildings that has seen at least $3 billion in redevelopment.

JMI Realty notes on its website that the Omni San Diego was a “critical element” in development of the Ballpark District. The landmark hotel is located at 675 L St. in the city’s Gaslamp Quarter, a popular downtown dining, entertainment and urban shopping district. Primarily a convention center hotel, the 21-floor facility serves upscale tourists and business travelers. Amenities include an 8,000-square-fot rooftop terrace; 27,000 square feet of meeting space; outdoor heated pool, spa and full-service fitness center. On-site dining options include McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant.

The refinancing did not include 11 floors at the Omni San Diego that contain 36 condominiums accessed from a separate entrance.

More than 33 million people visit San Diego each year, spending nearly $8.4 billion in the local economy, according to the San Diego Tourism Authority. Last year, San Diego County’s average hotel occupancy was 71.6 percent, the agency noted. It also stated the San Diego Convention Center held about 75 out-of-town conventions in 2013, the most recent year statistics were available. Attendees spent about $560 million in the area, according to the SDTA.

JMI Realty, established in 1992, is a private real estate investment and development company that manages a portfolio valued at about $600 million, including the nearby Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.

TRT Holdings is a privately-owned, diversified holding company in Dallas. Assets include Omni Hotels & Resorts, Gold’s Gym International and various other real estate ventures.

HFF has 23 offices across the United States and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services.