DALLAS, May 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashford
Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) ("Ashford Trust" or the
"Company") announced today details for the redevelopment and
acquisition of the meeting space at its Renaissance Nashville hotel
(the "Renaissance" or "Hotel").
![Nashville City View Nashville City View](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/510419/Ashford_Hospitality_Trust_Nashville.jpg)
The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County recently sold the Nashville Convention Center ("NCC" or the
"Convention Center") which is adjacent to the Renaissance to allow
for its redevelopment into a $400
million mixed-use development featuring a 26-story, 385,000
square foot Class A office tower, 235,000 square feet of high-end
retail, dining and entertainment (including the National Museum for
African American Music), a 34-story residential building containing
over 350 rental units and more than 2,000 parking spaces. Certain
of the Hotel's facilities, including the grand ballroom, kitchen,
laundry and other ancillary facilities, are located in the
Convention Center and are currently leased pursuant to a 99-year
lease. Additional meeting space consisting of a junior
ballroom and numerous breakout rooms are also located within the
Convention Center and are leased pursuant to a 30-year lease.
In connection with the redevelopment of the Convention Center,
the Company has entered into an agreement with the developers of
the project to acquire a permanent fee interest in the reconfigured
conference facility which will contain all spaces currently used by
the Hotel in the existing NCC under the current 99-year lease as
well as the additional meeting space that is under the current
30-year lease. The Hotel currently has approximately 13,000
square feet of meeting space that is owned fee simple and
approximately 48,000 square feet of meeting space that is subject
to ground leases. This redevelopment will eventually bring
the total meeting space available in the Hotel to approximately
75,000 square feet, all of which will be owned fee simple by the
Company. Ashford Trust plans to spend approximately
$20 million to renovate the new
meeting space.
The Company also announced that it has successfully refinanced a
mortgage loan with an existing outstanding balance totaling
approximately $103 million. The
previous mortgage loan that was refinanced was secured by the
Westin Princeton and Renaissance Nashville hotels with a final
maturity date in January 2018. The new loan totals
$181 million consisting of an initial
advance of $164 million with future
advances totaling $17 million as
reimbursement for capital expenditures. The new mortgage loan
is interest only with a five-year term and provides for a floating
interest rate of LIBOR + 3.00%. The new loan continues to be
non-recourse and is secured by the Westin Princeton and Renaissance
Nashville hotels. After closing costs, reserves, and the full
funding of the loan, the Company expects to realize excess proceeds
of approximately $70 million on the
refinancing.
"We are excited about the impact this new project will have on
Downtown Nashville and in
particular our Renaissance property. Being adjacent to the
5th & Broadway development will create several new demand
generators for our hotel, while also providing our guests with
direct access to many new quality dining and entertainment options
in dynamic downtown Nashville,"
said Douglas A. Kessler, President
and Chief Executive Officer of Ashford Trust. "This new
redevelopment provided us with a great opportunity to not only
establish a long-term ownership solution for our meeting space but
also to upgrade and ultimately expand the size and functionality of
the space. It was a win-win for everyone involved and the
Renaissance is now positioned for further success in this vibrant
and growing market." Mr. Kessler added, "Additionally, we are
pleased to close the refinancing of the Renaissance Nashville and
Westin Princeton as it addresses one of our upcoming maturities and
will result in substantial excess proceeds that will further
strengthen our liquidity position."
Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust
(REIT) focused on investing opportunistically in the hospitality
industry in upper upscale, full-service hotels.
Ashford has created an Ashford App for the hospitality REIT
investor community. The Ashford App is available for free
download at Apple's App Store and
the Google Play Store by searching "Ashford."
Certain statements and assumptions in this press release
contain or are based upon "forward-looking" information and are
being made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties. When we use the words "will likely result,"
"may," "anticipate," "estimate," "should," "expect," "believe,"
"intend," or similar expressions, we intend to identify
forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to
numerous assumptions and uncertainties, many of which are outside
Ashford Trust's control.
These forward-looking statements are subject to known and
unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results
to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without
limitation: timing of closing of the transaction and
satisfaction of conditions to closing, general volatility of the
capital markets and the market price of our common stock; changes
in our business or investment strategy; availability, terms and
deployment of capital; availability of qualified personnel; changes
in our industry and the market in which we operate, interest rates
or the general economy; and the degree and nature of our
competition. These and other risk factors are more fully
discussed in Ashford Trust's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release
are only made as of the date of this press release. Investors
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. We are not obligated to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or circumstances, changes in
expectations or otherwise.
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SOURCE Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc.