Riviera Point Development Group secured a $10.7m loan from Apollo Bank to build a dual-brand hotel on International Drive near SeaWorld in Orlando. The development’s first phase will feature a 101-room La Quinta Inns & Suites, while the second phase will include a 98-room Tryp by Wyndham SeaWorld. The loan will help fund the $32m construction cost of the entire 3.3-acre development. The site is located less than two miles from SeaWorld and the Orange County Convention Center, one of the largest convention centers in the US. Riviera Point has already started groundwork for La Quinta. Construction of the 53,647 sq ft Tryp by Wyndham will start later this year and open in early 2020. In addition to the construction loan, Riviera Point has already raised $6m in private equity mainly from Latin America and is raising $12m in EB-5 funds.
“It is an honor and a privilege to build a dual-brand hotel development in one of the nation’s fastest growing markets,” said Riviera Point President and CEO Rodrigo Azpurua. “When we started raising private equity mainly in Latin America to build the hotels, the investors’ interest was overwhelming. They knew Orlando from visiting the parks, and they wanted to play an active role in the evolution of this region by building and owning hotels on the popular International Drive.”
