Peachtree Group Lends $55M for Burbank Hotel Recap

Nimes Real Estate has sealed $55 million of bridge financing to recapitalize a boutique hotel in Burbank, Calif., near Warner Bros.’ headquarters and Walt Disney Studios, Commercial Observer can first report.

Peachtree Group originated the three-year, floating-rate facility with two 12-month extension options for Hotel Amarano Burbank-Hollywood, which Nimes acquired in late 2019. Nines purchased the 132-key hotel at 322 North Pass Avenue from Pebblebrook Hotel Trust for $72.9 million shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and completed a multimillion-dollar renovation project.

Keegan Bisch, vice president of originations and credit at Peachtree, said the recap allows the hotel to stabilize after encountering business challenges posed by Hollywood shutting down productions during the height of the pandemic, and a 148-day Writers Guild of America strike in 2023. Bisch said the hotel is now well positioned for success with its location in the heart of Burbank’s Media District and being the top booking hotel in the Los Angeles region for both Warner Bros. and Disney Studios.

“There is already a ton of in place demand that they draw from,” said Bisch, who noted that Warner Bros. is undergoing a 30-acre expansion of its campus a mile from the hotel that will drive more hotel visitors. “It’s a very high-quality, renovated hotel, plus there is a lot of growth in the market, so they are well positioned to take advantage of that.”

Bisch noted that in addition to Warner Bros. expanding, the hotel will also get a boost from  Disney centralizing its 52-acre Fox Studio Lot to Burbank along with NBCUniversal and Universal Studios adding more than 1.2 million square feet of new office and production space.

Officials at Beverly Hills-based Nimes did not immediately return a request for comment.

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com