Peachtree Group Lends $54M in Florida Keys Hotel Recap

A joint venture between Prime Group and Shaner Hotel Group has landed $54 million of bridge financing for the recapitalization of a Hilton-branded hotel property in the Florida Keys, Commercial Observer has learned.

Peachtree Group originated the three-year, floating-rate loan with two 12-month extension options for the sponsorship’s Faro Blanco Resort & Yacht Club, a 126-key resort in Marathon, Fla., operated under Hilton’s Curio Collection brand. The hotel owners recently underwent a renovation project as part of a rebrand to Hilton with the facility reopening under its new name in August 2024.

Jared Schlosser, head of credit originations at Peachtree Group, said the Marathon submarket has strong tailwinds with its location 50 miles east of Key West and around 100 miles south of Miami. Schlosser noted that the hotel stands to benefit from last month’s expansion of Florida Keys Marathon International Airport to commercial flights and upgrades to the hotel, including a new spa. 

“This was originally built as a Hyatt Place many years ago and then went independent, so they had to reconfigure the layout in the lobby and some of the functionality of it,” Schlosser said. “They did a really nice job with the renovation, and it’s now a really nice hotel and something you would expect if you were trying to go on vacation down there.”

Schlosser noted that a strong sponsorship was a big attraction in deciding to lend on the property.Hollywood, Fla.-based Prime Group owns 18 hotels across Florida, including three in the Keys, while Pennsylvania-based Shaner Hotel Group has a strong track record of management partnerships with Hilton, Marriott and IHG.

Officials at Prime Group and Shaner Hotel Group did not immediately return a request for comment.

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.