Chang Refis FiDi Hotel With $135M From UBS
By Guelda Voien November 7, 2014 1:50 pm
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Sam Chang and Jubao Xie, sponsors of the Holiday Inn Financial District, a full service hotel at 99 Washington Street, have refinanced their debt on the property.
The sponsors, who are the majority shareholders of McSam Downtown, the ownership entity, took a $135 million loan from UBS, Mr. Chang confirmed to Mortgage Observer.
“We put in a lot of equity,” he said. The loan, a permanent take-out, replaces construction debt, he said.
Meridian Capital Group brokered the transaction, a representative for Meridian confirmed. Emanuel Westfried, a vice president with the firm, handled the deal.
The two-year loan has interest-only payments for the entire term, the representative said.
“The existing debt was $45 million from Cathay Bank,” Mr. Westfried told MO. “The new lender was willing to provide $135 million in proceeds with no operating history and closed the same day the hotel opened for business,” said Mr. Westfried.
The 50-story building recently finished construction. The 492-key hotel features two restaurants, one “Pan Asian” in theme and the other an “American Bistro,” according to Downtown Express.
Mr. Chang, a prolific hotelier of Taiwanese decent, has been back in the spotlight of late, with numerous hotels under construction or just completed, as Commercial Observer has reported.
McSam Hotel Group, his parent firm, picked up 334 West 36th Street from the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health for $50.8 million, in August, and that building will become either a hotel or a residential building, he told CO at the time.
At 326 West 37th Street, McSam is building a Hilton Garden with 250 rooms, and the firm recently completed a Holiday Inn project at 585-587 Eighth Avenue.
UBS did not respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Lauren Elkies Schram
