City National Bank of Florida Provides $33M Refi for Fort Lauderdale Hotel

Developer Tom Assouline has sealed a $33 million loan to refinance a hotel property in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Commercial Observer has learned.

City National Bank of Florida supplied the two-year loan for the Garden Hotel & Resort, according to Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) Capital Markets, which negotiated the debt. IPA, a subsidiary of Marcus & Millichap, did not provide the borrower’s name, but the 154-key hotel is owned by Assouline and his family’s French real estate firm, Travel Research Online reported last month. 

Located at 3711 North Ocean Boulevard, the hotel recently underwent renovations to its guest rooms. The hotel has amenities that include three outdoor swimming pools, a poolside bar, beach access, complimentary bike rentals and a putting green. 

IPA’s Bobby Werhane arranged the transaction, which closed at a 65 percent loan-to-value ratio.

“Lenders remain highly focused on differentiated hospitality assets that deliver a true experiential stay,” Werhane, managing director in IPA’s Charlotte office, said in a statement. “We were able to structure a financing that not only reflected the property’s repositioning and strong market fundamentals, but also achieved a material improvement in rate.”

Assouline and City National Bank did not immediately return requests for comment.

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