Ramsfield, AB CarVal Lend $42M Against THesis Hotel Coral Gables

Ramsfield Hospitality Finance and funds managed by AB CarVal have written a $42 million mortgage against the 245-room THesis Hotel Miami, Curio Collection by Hilton, in Coral Gables, according to Commercial Real Estate Direct.

Why it matters

A non-bank hospitality lender putting $42 million on a Coral Gables hotel is a signal about where hotel credit is actually available right now, not just a single deal. Bank balance sheets have stayed tight on hospitality lending, and Ramsfield and AB CarVal have built a track record filling that gap, including a $135.2 million loan on a Hilton portfolio and a $95 million loan on a Burbank Marriott. The borrower entity, 1350 S Dixie LLC, has a related mezzanine-borrower entity on file with the state, which points to an existing layer of subordinate debt in the capital stack that this loan sits alongside or replaces. Neither the trade report nor the borrower has disclosed whether the proceeds refinance a maturing loan.

The numbers

At $42 million against 245 keys, the loan works out to roughly $171,000 in debt per room, a basis figure lenders and operators underwriting Coral Gables hospitality assets will measure against. The hotel sits on a folio that also carries the Residences and Offices at THesis, a mixed-use complex across the street from the University of Miami. That combined folio last traded as vacant land for $44 million in March 2016, before construction, and now carries a 2026 assessed value of $131.8 million and a market value of $138.4 million, though those figures cover the full complex and not the hotel component alone. The Miami hospitality market has drawn a run of hotel debt this cycle as institutional buyers keep chasing branded, stabilized assets near transit and the university corridor.

What’s next

Terms of the loan, including rate and maturity, were not disclosed, and it remains unclear whether the $42 million refinances existing THesis Hotel debt or funds new capital needs. Developers and lenders watching Coral Gables hospitality should track whether Ramsfield and AB CarVal price additional South Florida hotel debt at a similar per-key basis, which would confirm $171,000 a key as a working floor for non-bank hotel financing in the submarket.