 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
|||
 |
||||
 |
||||
 |
 |
Press Room |
||
 |
BEST WESTERN, NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE SOLD: Wason Associates Hospitality Real Estate Brokerage Group is pleased to announce transaction completion of the sale of the Best Western Granite Inn, a 104 room hotel, located in Nashua, New Hampshire. Karen Enterprises Inc., an established New Hampshire Hotel Company, purchased the property on May 1st. Major renovations had recently been completed to the rooms, lobby, and porte-cochere. Coincidentally, the transaction encountered complications due to a fire that partially destroyed 50 guest rooms just 3 days after the execution of a purchase agreement. This incident provoked extensive negotiations by Wason Associates in order to have the sale closed by May 1st as required. COMFORT INN, MERRIMACK, NEW HAMPSHIRE SOLD: Wason Associates is pleased to announce the sale of the Comfort Inn, located in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The sale of the recently renovated, 68-room hotel took place on April 10, 2008. Previous franchise owners 242 Merrimack Corp purchased the property in 2000 as a Days Inn. In 2005, 242 Merrimack Corp converted the hotel to a Comfort Inn. This involved a major renovation based on the Design Review requirements of Choice Hotels International, a worldwide lodging franchisor. All hotels under the Comfort Inn brand are managed by Choice Hotels International. The property’s new owners, Narayan Hotel, LLC, purchased the hotel for the price of $3,250,000.00. Earle Wason, President of Wason Associates, oversaw the transaction with assistance from the Wason team; Peter Annon, CPA; Joe Cardillo, broker associate; and Wendy Casey. “Efforts were strong in making this sale happen,” states Earle Wason, President of Wason Associates. “Having been recently renovated, the hotel is now in ideal condition to compete in the current market and is a great investment for Narayan Hotel, LLC.” NORDIC VILLAGE RESORT SOLD: One of the most picture-perfect resorts in the Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire has been sold. Nordic Village Luxury Mountain Getaways of Bartlett and Jackson was sold by developer/owner Robert Cyr Dec. 20 to Danny and Carla Lafayette of the Bangor, Maine-based Lafayette Hotels group. The sale was transacted by Wason Associates Hospitality Brokerage Group, with Earle Wason overseeing the transaction with assistance from the team of Peter Annon, CPA, and Joe Cardillo, broker associate and Wendy Casey. “I was contacted by Robert Cyr back in June in that he was interested in selling Nordic Village but keeping Nestlenook Farm in Jackson. I knew the Lafayette’s from prior sales. When I contacted him six months ago, Danny, who is a great guy, a former West Point graduate, said he was interested. So that's how the whole thing started,” Wason said this week. Wason said his firm was able to structure the transaction in a way that limits Cyr's tax consequences. “It's structured as a combination of an installment sale and tax deferred exchange — the benefit to that is it creates annual income and defers a significant part of Mr. Cyr's capital gain tax,” said Wason, whose firm includes a certified public accountant who specializes in real estate transactions. Cyr — a hair salon owner in Worcester, Mass., who is known for his meticulous attention to detail, whether it be for hair care or for creating masterful landscape and architectural designs — said he could have sold the units at Nordic Village LMG individually but that he is glad to have sold it as one piece. “I like the Lafayette’s. They share my vision for the property, and I am happy to see it go to them because they will carry on the fine tradition of hospitality that we have established at Nordic Village,” said Cyr. He developed Nordic Village in the 1980s along with the Nestlenook Resort in Jackson. The property sold for $13 million, Wason said. Cyr said he will continue to own and operate the Nestlenook Farm, which includes a Victorian inn, townhouses and the resort amenities of the Nestlenook, including the Victorian skating park and sleigh rides. “I have a very strong emotional tie to the Nestlenook, which I operated with my late wife, Nancy,” Cyr said, noting he is watching the business climate before deciding exactly what future development plans he may undertake for the Nestlenook. The Nordic Village Luxury Mountain Getaways sale includes: “There are 132 units there at Nordic Village — Danny bought 33 of them with a total 74 rental units he bought from Robert. The rental program offers 130 units for rent. There are 170 rentals in total. . Every unit has a view down the valley,” said Wason. He said the condominium association of owners at Nordic Village had the right of first refusal on the sale, but they declined, according to Wason. Wason said the Lafayette’s have been in the hotel business since 1982 when they bought the Best Western White House in Bangor Maine. Wason said Danny Lafayette's philosophy of running hotels is straightforward: hire good people, re-invest in your hotels, steadfastly control expenses, pay bills on time and work hard. “I first met Danny in 1992, when I sold him his third hotel — the Best Western Merry Manor in South Portland Maine. Nordic Village Luxury Mountain Getaways is his 24th property,” said Wason, who noted that all of the Lafayette’s' other hotel properties are located in coastal Maine, except for two that are located in new Hampshire: B. Mae Denny's in Gilford, a resort founded by Red Parka Pub of Glen owners Dewey Mark and Tony Ferruolo, and the Fireside Inn in Lebanon. “They were looking for a White Mountain property because they see a lot of potential for marketing for their coastal Maine properties and this area. They do a lot of European individual travel business, and they will bring a lot of new people here to the valley,” said Wason. In addition to the Fireside and B. May Denny's New Hampshire properties, the company also manages the Anchorage in Portsmouth, NH. The Lafayette company's Maine properties include Best Black Bear Inn and Conference Center in Orono; Ogunquit River Inn, Ogunquit Seacastles Resort, and Norseman Resort, and the Seacoaster Resort and Spa, all in Ogunquit; the Viking Motor Inn and the Waves Oceanfront Resort, both at Old Orchard Beach; the Wonder View Inn and the Bar Harbor Blue Nose Inn, both in Bar Harbor; Lafayette's Oceanfront Resort in Wells Beach; America's Best Inn and the Best Western White House Inn, both in Bangor; the Senator Inn and Spa in Augusta; the Comfort Inn Ocean's Edge in Belfast; the Best Western Waterville Inn in Waterville; a Fireside Inn and Suites in Lewiston-Auburn; the Best Western Merry Manor Inn in Portland; and the Tugboat Inn in Boothbay Harbor. The company also owns the Best Western Greenfield Inn in Dearborn, Michigan. “There are obviously economies of scale in operating multiple resorts, as well as cross-marketing opportunities. A company such as the Lafayette’s can also offer competitive benefits and wages for their employees,” said Wason. The sale of Nordic Village Luxury Mountain Getaways was financed by Northway Bank, the primary lender, and Machias Savings Bank of Machias, Maine. Other local North Conway area transactions in which Earle has been involved include the sale of the Christmas Farm Inn in Jackson, the Merrill Farm Resort in Conway, the Green Granite and Holiday Inn Express, both in North Conway, and The Lodge at Jackson. He also managed the sale of the Indian Mound Golf Course in Ossipee. SUPER 8 IN BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT SOLD: Joe Cardillo, the licensed Broker for Wason Associates, Hospitality Real Estate Brokerage Group in Vermont, has announced the Sale of the 60 room Super 8 Motel, located at Putney Road in Brattleboro, Vermont. The property was sold by Amar, Inc. and operated by a Boston, Massachusetts based management company and sold to B&C Management Corporation, a small regional hotel company based in Maine. The selling price per room was $37,000 for this very complicated transaction which required negotiation with multiple parties including the holder of a land lease, lenders including the placement of an SBA 504 loan, and Wyndham Hotel Group which had required a “Property Improvement Program” in excess of $150,000 to a recently renovated hotel. This was the first purchase of a hospitality property by B & C Management outside the State of Maine as they are planning for additional growth in southern Vermont, southeastern New Hampshire and northwest Massachusetts market areas. Earle Wason recently negotiated the multi-million dollar sale and lease of the Indian Mound Golf Course in Ossipee, New Hampshire, a very popular and well known golfing facility in the middle of New Hampshire’s Lakes Region. The owners, BMD Golf Associates had identified a likely buyer for the course but negotiations had stalled and the seller recognized the need for a knowledgeable third party negotiator. Earle helped by listening to both sides of the transaction, developed a plan as to how to structure the transaction that would work for both seller and the buyer and also defer federal taxes to the seller, established a financing plan, and managed all the details until closing. The new owners, Jonathan and Jackie Rivers, have enjoyed a very successful 2007 season and greatly enhanced the quality of the course, greatly improved membership services and look forward to many years of successful operations. Other recent transactions:
|
|||
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||||