Last Thursday, a Southside hotel just off JTB quietly traded to new ownership in an eight-figure deal. A Missouri-based buyer paid $11.3 million for the Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville JTB/Deerwood, a 119-room property near St. Johns Town Center. The June 11 closing moves the hotel out of Dallas-based Ashford Hospitality Trust's portfolio, part of an ongoing series of hotel sales the company has been using to reshape its balance sheet.
As reported by the Jax Daily Record, MACO Management Co. Inc. of Malden, Missouri, bought the property through an acquisition vehicle called Jacksonville Hotel Partners LLC. The report notes the hotel is a 72,108-square-foot building on roughly 2.3 acres and last sold in November 2003 for about $10.82 million.
Company filings back up the deal details. According to a filing with the SEC, Ashford Jacksonville I LP, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Ashford Hospitality Trust, completed the disposition on June 11. The filing shows roughly $11.3 million in gross consideration and about $11.0 million in net cash proceeds after selling expenses. The company reported that much of the cash went to pay down mortgage debt tied to multiple assets and attached unaudited pro forma financials to the submission.
Hotel snapshot
The property is a midscale, select-service Hilton Garden Inn with 119 guest rooms and on-site dining, an outdoor pool, a business center and free Wi-Fi. The brand’s site lists the familiar guest and meeting amenities travelers expect from Hilton Garden Inn. Day-to-day operations and franchising remain governed by Hilton brand standards while ownership shifts from the REIT to the new buyer.
Buyer profile
MACO Management Co. Inc. describes itself as a property manager providing real estate management services to residential and commercial holdings. The firm is based in Malden, Missouri, and operates through affiliated companies, according to its website. For this deal, it used Jacksonville Hotel Partners LLC as the local acquisition entity identified in reports on the sale.
Why the sale matters
The transaction trims Ashford’s portfolio and provides modest liquidity at a time when the company has been disclosing a series of asset sales. Per company filings, the Jacksonville deal produced a small pro forma improvement to Ashford’s reported net loss for the prior period, helping explain why the REIT has moved to let go of select hotels this year. Observers of the local market say deals like this generally reflect steady investor interest in repositioning midscale hotels in strong suburban retail corridors such as the St. Johns Town Center area.
For now, the hotel will keep flying the Hilton flag while the new owner evaluates the asset. Any moves on renovations, rebranding or other changes are likely to show up first in permit filings or public notices, which we will continue to watch.
