DALLAS, Oct. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashford Hospitality
Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) ("Ashford Trust" or the "Company") today
announced the sale of a 1.65-acre (72,068 square foot) parking lot
adjacent to its Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront Hotel in
St. Petersburg, Florida for total
consideration of $17.5 million to be
paid over time. The lot was sold to a Florida-based company and will be developed
into a 35-story condominium tower and parking garage. As part of
the agreement, following project completion, the Company will have
ownership rights to 205 covered parking spaces in the new parking
garage for use by Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront guests. The first
payment tranche resulted in approximately $8.0 million of debt paydown.
"We continue to pursue transactions that we believe will enhance
returns for our shareholders," said Douglas
A. Kessler, Ashford Trust's President and Chief Executive
Officer. "This development simultaneously maximizes the sales
proceeds of the land parcel and improves the parking facilities of
the hotel. With this strategic sale and the associated debt
paydown, we are able to lower our leverage while continuing to
highlight the value within our portfolio."
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. Forward-looking
statements in this press release include, among others, statements
about the Company's strategy and future plans. 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: 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.