iCap Realty Advisors has arranged a $142.5 million acquisition and redevelopment loan on behalf of Becker Ventures for the Paramount Hotel in New York City. The hotel, which is located near Times Square, was previously owned by Ian Schrager. New owner Becker Ventures has forged a partnership with Hard Rock Hotels and Sol Melia Hotels and Resorts to purchase the property.
The hotel is undergoing an extensive renovation and will re-open in 2005 as a Hard Rock brand property. The $142.5 million financing package in part will fund the renovation of the hotel. The remainder will finance the initial purchase of the property from Schrager. Citigroup provided the first mortgage, and Fillmore Capital Partners provided the mezzanine debt.
The Paramount isn’t the first deal that Becker Ventures and Hard Rock have worked on together — the partners recently completed the renovation of the Carbide and Carbon Building on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. That property, which opened late last year, also was transformed into a Hard Rock Hotel.