Knighthead Funding provides $37.75 million loan for hotel conversion for a local partnership operating as Sean Casey, LLC

Cambridge, MA Knighthead Funding, LLC has originated a $37.75 million loan for the completion of an upscale independent 67-room hotel. With Knighthead Funding’s 24-month financing, the sponsor, a local partnership operating as Sean Casey, LLC, will complete the transformation of a four-story multifamily building into a 67-room boutique hotel that will include ground floor retail, restaurant and the addition of a 10,000 s/f fifth floor penthouse with a rooftop lounge. 

The property is located at the corner of Columbia St. and Main St., in an area of the city known as Central Sq. The neighborhood has benefited from significant public and private investment with several new developments in process. The new hotel, expected to open in the first quarter of 2020, will be managed by Hay Creek Hotels, which operates 19 boutique hotels across the country. 

“Cambridge is one of the strongest hotel markets in the United States, with occupancy rates above 80%. Our capital will help the sponsor complete the construction and bring this property online to meet the growing demand for hotel rooms in the market,” said Brian Sullivan, Knighthead Funding’s vice president who originated the loan. 

“This milestone further demonstrates our team’s collective experience to structure loans that meet our borrowers’ specific requirements and rigid time frames,” said Jonathan Daniel, a principal at Knighthead Funding.

It is one of several recent loans that helped Knighthead Funding surpass $1 billion in originations. Since its inception in 2013, Knighthead Funding has closed 102 loans on 10 asset types across 19 states. Other recent financings include a $25.25 million loan for the construction of a 178 micro-unit multifamily community in Seattle and a $4.6 million loan for the construction of a student housing property near the University of Washington.