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Carlson and Mortenson announced the completion of financing for the 500-room, USD 137.5 million Radisson Blu Hotel at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. Carlson and Mortenson are partners in the hotel. Mortenson is the developer and general contractor and Carlson Hotels will manage hotel operations.
Situated on the Mall’s south side, the upper upscale Radisson Blu hotel is expected to open in March 2013. It will be the first hotel connected by skyway to the mall and will be situated on the south side between Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores. A groundbreaking event is planned on May 26.
The partners noted that the successful completion of financing during the current challenging market conditions underscores the strength of the Carlson and Mortenson team, and expected performance of the hotel.
“We are excited about this landmark Radisson Blu development, which is another key milestone of our Ambition 2015 growth plan to make Radisson a powerful, globally consistent, first-class brand,” said Thorsten Kirschke, chief operating officer, Carlson Hotels and president, Carlson Hotels, Americas. “It is our second Radisson Blu announced in the United States and is an important next step for the Phase II high-end expansion at Mall of America.”
“This is a large, complex transaction and we are very pleased to see such a positive result,” said Tom Lander, vice president, Mortenson Development. “We are working with several great partners on this project. We’re very proud and excited to see this phase of the development completed.”
The hotel’s financing comes from multiple sources, including Recovery Zone Facility (RZF) bonds, mortgage secured notes, general obligation (GO) bonds from the City of Bloomington, a Mall of America skywalk contribution and developer equity. The RZF bonds are tax-exempt private activity bonds created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress in February 2009. The mortgage secured notes are held by trade pension funds and community banks.
“To secure financing for a transaction of this size and complexity is very gratifying,” said Jerry Tabolich, executive vice president, Dougherty Funding. Dougherty Funding is the Master Disbursing Agent for all project funds. Dougherty & Company, arranged and placed the mortgage-secured notes and RZF bonds for the project. “There are a lot of people and agencies behind the scenes that helped make this happen. It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work and coordination,” he said.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
