Optima Sonoran Village - Scottsdale, Arizona

Case Study: Perkins Coie LLP represents a joint venture of Optima, Inc. and DeBartolo Real Estate Investments, LLC in the development of Optima Sonoran Village.

New Water Park, LLC, a Subsidiary of DRW Holdings, LLC/Convexity Properties

Case Study: New Water Park, LLC is the developer of a mixed-use building housing the Loews Hotel Chicago and the North Water Residences. The 400-room downtown luxury hotel includes a steakhouse, rooftop lounge, lobby bar and lounge, spa and 29,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space.

Strategic Hotels Revisits Essex House to Launch First JW Marriott in NYC

Case Study: In 2012, Strategic Hotels & Resorts sought to reacquire the Essex House Hotel in New York City, which an affiliate had sold to the Dubai Investment Group in 2005.

Strategic Hotels Acquires the Essex House Hotel

Represented Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. in connection with its acquisition of the Essex House Hotel and nine residential units at the property; negotiated management agreements with Marriott International, Inc., relating to the conversion of the hotel from a Jumeirah-branded property to the first JW Marriott-branded property in New York City; formed a joint venture with subsidiaries of KSL Capital Partners, LLC; and acquired financing via a $190 million loan from Bank of America, N.A. Our client received the “2012 Single Asset Transaction of the Year” award at the Americas Lodging Institute Investment Summit (ALIS) in recognition of its $362.3 million purchase of the iconic Manhattan hotel.

Strategic and Fairmont Hotels Joint Venture

Represented Strategic Hotels & Resorts in connection with the acquisition of a joint venture interest in the Scottsdale Fairmont Hotel in Arizona.

Sophisticated Financings for Strategic Hotels & Resorts

Our representation and counsel to the Strategic Hotel group includes multiple global financings.

Seller’s Counsel for Holiday Inn’s Hilton Head Property

Represented IC Hospitality Fund, L.P., in the sale of The Beach House, a Holiday Inn resort. IC Hospitality Fund, a private equity fund sponsored by Integrated Capital, LLC, purchased the Holiday Inn on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Integrated Capital undertook a substantial renovation and repositioning, launched the property and later sold it.

Secured Hotel Titles for Lender in Ch. 11 Cases

Represented LNR as lead counsel for the senior secured lender in four Chapter 11 hotel bankruptcy cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona. We defeated the debtors’ Chapter 11 plans and succeeded in confirming our own Chapter 11 plans that allowed our client to take title to the four hotels and pay creditors a substantial distribution.

Sale of Chicago’s Allerton Hotel

Represented an entity controlled by Petra Capital Management in the sale of Chicago’s Allerton Hotel.

Restructuring of Loans for CMBS Loan Servicers

Represented CMBS loan servicers in the restructuring of loans secured by the Four Seasons San Francisco, the Courtyard San Diego, an extended-stay hotel in Tampa and a portfolio of boutique hotels in Chicago, Illinois.

Represented CMBS Loan Servicers in Hotel Sales

Represented a CMBS loan servicer in the sale of the Hyatt Albuquerque and the Holiday Inn Santa Maria. 

Recapitalization for Park City Resort

Represented fund entities controlled by Singerman Real Estate in connection with the recapitalization of an entity that owns a resort in Park City, Utah, including the formation of a joint venture, negotiation of bridge loan financing, negotiation of a hotel management agreement and negotiations with a hotel franchisor for a franchise conversion.

Radlax: Landmark Bankruptcy Case Before U.S. Supreme Court

Represented RadLAX Gateway Hotel, owners of the Radisson Hotel at Los Angeles International Airport (The Harp Group) and an adjacent unfinished parking structure, in all aspects of Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings. We represented the client with respect to an attempt to sell substantially all of the client's assets through a plan by providing the lender with the indubitable equivalent of its secured claim, but precluding the lender from credit bidding at the auction for the assets. We ultimately argued the case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Negotiated Joint Venture and Liquor License Transfer

Negotiated the joint venture agreement and the transfer of the liquor license of the Portland Marriott Waterfront Hotel Downtown on behalf of the purchaser, DiNapoli Capital Partners.

Negotiated Ground Lease and Franchise Agreement

Represented Secaucus Lodging Associates LLP, an affiliate of Sun Development & Management Corporation, in connection with a ground lease and franchise agreement related to an Aloft by Starwood project to be built in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Negotiated Deed-In-Lieu Transaction Hotel Portfolio

Represented a CMBS loan servicer in its negotiation of a deed-in-lieu transaction for a portfolio of 79 hotels, including the negotiation of new franchise agreements and new management agreements. The owner of the 79 properties in foreclosure is the same owner of the Red Roof brand which led to additional challenges.

M&A Counsel in Sale of Rosewood Hotels

Represented Rosewood Hotels & Resorts L.L.C. in the sale of the Dallas-based hotel management company and five North American properties under Rosewood management for $800 million to China-based New World Hospitality and individual investors. Properties sold in the transaction included the Carlyle Hotel in New York, the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Rosewood Little Dix Bay in the British Virgin Islands and Rosewood Crescent Hotel and Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas. Perkins Coie attorneys helped Rosewood acquire all of these assets from the various owners in transactions dating back to 1997. The transaction received the Americas Lodging Institute Investment Summit’s “2011 M&A of the Year” award.

Lien Foreclosure Action

Represented a premier hotel owner, developer and asset manager in a mortgage/mechanics lien foreclosure action in an eight-day trial in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. This matter involved a partially completed, 216-room hotel construction project located in downtown Chicago.

Lead Counsel for LNR in Appeal of Ch. 11 Plan

Represent LNR as lead counsel in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in appealing the confirmation of debtors’ joint Chapter 11 plan involving issues of equitable mootness and plan confirmation issues.

Hotel Transactions for First Hospitality Group

Acted as counsel to First Hospitality Group in several matters, including in a receiver sale involving the Hilton Garden Inn in Independence, Missouri, and in the negotiation of a management agreement and joint venture agreement in connection with a hotel near O’Hare Airport.

Hotel Management Agreements

Represented an entity affiliated with AJ Capital Partners in the negotiation of a hotel management agreement and restaurant management agreement for the Chicago Athletic Association hotel project. We also represented an entity affiliated with AJ Capital Partners in the negotiation of a hotel management agreement for the Hotel Lincoln in Chicago.

Hotel Development Land Acquisition

Represented an affiliate of CSM Lodging in the acquisition of land in Redmond, Washington to develop a hotel as part of the Overlake Village project.

Hotel Acquisition, Financing and Franchise Conversion

Served as counsel to Calypso Lodging Associates LLC, an affiliate of Sun Development & Management Corporation, in connection with the acquisition, financing and franchise conversion of the SpringHill Suites, a hotel in Kissimmee, Florida.

Hilton Prevails in Management Contract Dispute

Represented Hilton to preserve all of its rights in the bankruptcy cases of MSR Resort Golf Course LLC, et al. in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The management contracts were worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Hilton, and the debtors had threatened to terminate their agreements if Hilton did not capitulate to the debtors' demands to restructure the agreements. We successfully litigated over enforcing our clients' rights against the owners of the resorts. At the conclusion of the five-day trial, our client was awarded damages worth almost $125 million after which the purchaser of the resorts agreed to retain Hilton to manage the properties.

Hilton Opposes BK Plan Confirmation

Represented Hilton as a franchisor in bankruptcy cases involving eight Embassy Suites hotels in Santa Barbara, California, and successfully opposed the plan confirmation. As a result of our efforts, our client was paid in full.

Guide Fund in Sale of Four Seasons in Houston

Represented Hotel Equity Fund II in its sale of the Four Seasons Hotel Houston.

Expanding a Hotel Brand Internationally With a Strategic Partnership

Case Study: Established in 1979, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts is a Dallas-based international luxury hotel and resort company known for its distinctive collection of residential-style hotels and legendary resorts. With an eye towards bringing its brand to new global destinations, Rosewood wanted to secure a strategic partner to acquire its management company and five of its hotel properties.

Dual-Branded Hotel Conversion

Represented an owner of a hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina in connection with the conversion of the hotel to a dual-branded Sheraton and Le Meridien.

Driving Financing for ClubCorp Golf Courses

Represented ClubCorp in connection with the amendment, restatement and add-on term and revolving credit facility leading up to and in conjunction with its initial public offering. This facility totals $651 million of term and revolving credit, with expanded accordion capacity that is cross-collateralized by mortgages on approximately 60 golf courses in 15 states. Perkins Coie was principal finance counsel for ClubCorp and approximately 200 subsidiaries for this and its previous financings dating back to 2007. Our responsibility included overall negotiation of the credit facility as well as coordination of local counsel in 27 jurisdictions in which the golf courses and business clubs are located.

Commercial Transaction Disputes in NY, DE and IL

Represent a privately held hotel owner and operating company in ongoing, interrelated litigation in New York, Delaware and Illinois.

CMBS Loans for Affiliates of Sun

Represented affiliates of Sun Development & Management Corporation (SUN) in connection with a $36 million CMBS loan and concurrent $20 million term loan originated by Natixis Real Estate Capital relating to 14 hotels located in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Mississippi and Louisiana. In a separate transaction, we also represented affiliates of SUN in connection with a $56.3 million CMBS loan and concurrent $17.7 million mezzanine loan relating to five hotels located in California, Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey and Tennessee.

Chapter 11 Hotel Reorganizations

Represented Shamrock-Hostmark Andover Hotels, LLC; Hostmark Palm Desert Hotels, LLC; Shamrock-Hostmark Princeton Hotel, LLC; Shamrock-Hostmark Tampa Westshores Hotel, LLC; and Shamrock-Hostmark Texas Hotels, L.P. in all aspects of the Chapter 11 reorganization efforts of the bankruptcy cases. Each of the clients owned a full-service hotel encumbered by $100 million dollars in debt. The cases were successfully concluded for the debtors; their owners and creditors received a substantial distribution.

Bankruptcy Counsel to Sun

Represent affiliates of Sun Development & Management, owners of seven hotels throughout the country, in bankruptcy cases in the Southern District of Indiana. The debtors collectively owe approximately $120 million of debt to their lender.

Acquisition and Financing of Boutique Hotel

Represented fund entities controlled by Singerman Real Estate in connection with the acquisition and financing of a boutique hotel in Portland, Oregon, including the formation of a joint venture and negotiation of a hotel management agreement.

Grand Hotel Mackinac Island

Represented KSL Capital Partners in its acquisition and financing of the Grand Hotel and over 40 parcels of land on Mackinac Island and in Okemos, MI. The 397-room hotel overlooking the Straits of Mackinac and the Mackinac Bridge is a National Historic Landmark and has been family-owned for almost 100 years. The island is free of all motorized vehicles, making diligence on the property extremely labor intensive.

Waldorf Astoria Chicago

In one of the largest hotel sales in Chicago, Perkins Coie represented a joint venture of Geller Capital Partners and Wanxiang America Real Estate Group in their purchase and financing of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Chicago from Equity Group Investments. At the time of this sale, the property had the highest price per room of any hotel in Chicago.

Graduate Hotels

Represented AJ Capital Partners and various affiliates in the acquisition and financing of more than 20 hotels in its Graduate Hotels line throughout the United States. Launched in 2014, Graduate Hotels is a new boutique hotel collection targeting dynamic university towns across America.

Extended Stay America Portfolio

Represented Singerman Real Estate in the acquisition, financing, and negotiation of franchise agreements and hotel management agreements for a portfolio of 14 Extended Stay America hotels located in Ohio, Georgia, and Illinois. This is the first acquisition for Singerman of Extended Stay America hotels.

Washington Marriott Georgetown

Represented Geller Capital Partners in the purchase and financing of the Washington Marriott Georgetown in Washington, D.C.

Rialto Capital Advisors, LLC

Represented Rialto Capital Advisors in connection with servicing its loan portfolio secured by hotel properties across the United States, including serving as counsel in guarantor litigation.

Conrad Chicago Hotel

Represented Geller Capital Partners in the acquisition, financing, and redevelopment of floors 8-20 of a former office building into this recently launched luxury hotel.

Bardessono Hotel & Spa

Represented Yountville Investors LLC in the sale of the leasehold interest of the award-winning 62-room Bardessono Hotel & Spa located in Yountville, California, to Ashford Hospitality Prime, Inc.

HRI Properties

Represented HRI Properties in joint venture, financing, management, franchise agreements, and other documents and closing financings, acquisitions, and dispositions across more than a dozen of its portfolio of hotels across the United States. Recent representations include the negotiation of a long-term ground lease and project agreements for a mixed-use project in Nashville, Tennessee; the acquisition and financing for the redevelopment of a historic building in Pittsburgh that will be converted into a hotel; and the acquisition, joint venture, and financing of a site in Tampa, Florida, that will be converted into a dual-brand hotel.

Hilton Worldwide Mortgage Debt

Represented Hilton Worldwide in its assumption of mortgage debt in connection with the purchase of the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek and the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando, Florida, which were among five hotels purchased by affiliates of Hilton Worldwide in California and Florida from the proceeds of the $1.95 billion sale of the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

Westin St. Louis

Represented Lennox Capital Partners in the acquisition of the Westin St. Louis hotel from HEI Hotels & Resorts. The 255-room hotel was redeveloped from the historic Cupples Station in 2001 and is considered one of the premier adaptive-reuse projects in America. Also represented Lennox in a separately executed ground sale and lease back transaction.

Loews Chicago Hotel

Represented DRW Holdings Group in the financing and development of a mixed-use residential and hotel complex, as well as the sale of the hotel upon completion to an affiliate of Loews Hotels & Resorts.