BC Lynd Buys Historic St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio ...

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

BC Lynd Hospitality L.L.C., a newly formed joint venture between the Lynd Co. and BC Commercial Partners L.L.C., has snapped up the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio from special servicer Berkadia. The new owners plan to submit the 352-room hotel, which is listed as a National Historic Landmark, to a $24 million makeover.

BC Lynd did not come by its first acquisition with ease. The joint venture competed heavily with a substantial group of investors eager to purchase the 103-year-old property. Commercial real estate and capital markets services firm HFF spearheaded the disposition on behalf of the seller. Financial terms of the transaction have not been publicly disclosed; however, it is possible that the assumption of debt was involved in the purchase price as the previous owner of the 10-story building had defaulted on a loan with a $22.3 million balance, as noted in a Fitch Ratings report.

?We work tirelessly to gain an unparalleled understanding of our potential investments, and I believe we were selected as the buyer of this asset because of our comprehensive due diligence process and superior knowledge of the property,? said Bandon Raney, CEO of BC Lynd. ?We also have the unique ability to close real estate transactions in an efficient manner, with minimal issues arising.?

The asset, located at 300 E. Travis St. in downtown San Antonio, underwent an $8 million design-build restoration in 2009 and will get another facelift at the hands of its new owner, courtesy of financing provided by IBC Bank. IBC Bank also came through with debt financing for BC Lynd?s purchase of the property. Once all is said and done, the St. Anthony Hotel will be rebranded as a Starwood Luxury Collection property.

BC Lynd is just getting started. ?This transaction signifies the beginning of what the group considers to be the best acquisition environment in recent years,? Raney added. ?We have more capital at our disposal and are currently evaluating several other opportunities.? In addition to capitalizing on buying opportunities, the new joint venture will manage properties on behalf of investors in need of assistance turning around their assets, as well as develop hotels for clients.

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