Ashford Hospitality Trust today announced it has closed on a $4.0 million, five-year
mezzanine loan on the 300-room Marriott Cool Springs in Franklin, TN, a suburb
of Nashville.The loan bears interest at a rate of 14% for a term of five years with no
extension options. Financing on the Marriott Cool Springs includes a first
mortgage of $27.0 million by Column Financial, Inc. and the $4.0 million
mezzanine loan originated by Ashford. Ashford’s investment in the capital
structure is approximately 66% to 77% loan to value, and trailing twelve month
debt service coverage is 1.11x. The borrower is Noble Cool Springs Mezz
Borrower, LLC, and the hotel is managed by Noble Management Group, LLC.
  Opened in 1999, the hotel has 300 rooms, 29,000 square feet of meeting
space and is connected to the Cool Springs Conference Center. Cool Springs is
Tennessee’s strongest and fastest growing commercial development, consisting
of 1,050 acres of new class-A office facilities, retail space, restaurants and
CoolSprings Galleria, which is Tennessee’s second largest mall. Located in the
heart of Williamson County, the 11th wealthiest county in the nation, the area
is also one of the state’s fastest growing residential markets.
  Commenting on the announcement, Monty J. Bennett, President and CEO of
Ashford Hospitality Trust, stated, “The Cool Springs market in Nashville has
been experiencing exceptional growth for a number of years. The Marriott Cool
Springs is a strong full service hotel with an excellent brand and premier
location. With no new supply expected to enter the market and a diverse number
of business drivers among the 6.7 million square feet of office space in Cool
Springs and neighboring Brentwood, we believe the Marriott Cool Springs is
favorably positioned to continue to capture the larger share of demand in this
exciting, high growth market. We are also pleased to continue our existing
relationship with Noble Hospitality, one of the leading hotel developers and
managers in the country.”
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