Refinancing secured for the W Aspen, an 88-key ski resort hotel

WASHINGTON, D.C., Mar. 8, 2024 –  JLL Capital Markets announced today that it arranged the refinancing for the W Aspen, an 88-key ski resort hotel in Colorado.

JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, Northridge Capital, and secured the loan from Riyad Bank.

The W is a short walk to the heart of downtown Aspen’s historic shopping and dining district and nestled at the base of Aspen Mountain. The W Aspen opened in the Fall of 2019 and is the first new ground-up hotel construction project to deliver in Aspen in over 25 years.

The five-story hotel is located at 550 South Spring St. and totals 74,184 square feet. Key features include first-class amenities with a rooftop deck featuring a heated pool and spa with panoramic views of Aspen Mountain, Independence Pass, Red Mountain and Downtown Aspen. Additional amenities include three food and beverage outlets, meeting/banquet space, a fitness facility, fire pits, rooftop cabanas, structured parking and a seasonal ski shop.

Located over 7,900 feet above sea level in the heart of the White River National Forest, Aspen is a historic mining town that has been transformed into a global destination offering a limitless assortment of first-class outdoor activities as well as best-in-class retail and dining options. Aspen draws year-round demand from across the globe with eleven direct flights into Aspen County Airport from major hubs across the United States.

“After the post-pandemic roller-coaster ride that was mountain resort hotel performance during 2021-22, travel patterns and hotel performance returned to a semblance of “normal” during 2023. As we near sell-out of our remaining residential inventory, this was an opportune time to look for permanent hotel financing, and we feel fortunate to have made the connection with Riyad Bank – Houston Agency and established a positive working relationship that we look forward to continuing for many years,” remarked Northridge Founding Partner Dave Jackson.

“It was great to field a deep pool of prospective lenders interested in refinancing the W Aspen, proving there is plenty of liquidity for iconic, irreplaceable assets in desirable markets. We picked the right partner in Riyad Bank and look forward to a strong relationship for years to come” added Northridge Managing Partner, David Etemadi.

The JLL Capital Markets team was led by Managing Directors Chris Hew and Jeff Bucaro, Executive Managing Director Eric Tupler and Associate Emma Buch.

“The W Aspen is an irreplaceable asset and we’re very proud to have played a part in the financing effort here,” said Hew.

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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Riyad Bank is one of the largest financial institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Established in 1957, with a paid-up capital of SAR 30 billion. The Bank's professional and dedicated staff base has mainly driven its success throughout the years. With more than 5,900 employees, Riyad Bank takes pride in being among the Saudi organizations with the highest national employment rate of 95%. 28% of them are women.

Riyad Bank provides a comprehensive range of products and services fully compliant with the Islamic Sharia' to meet the needs of both retail and corporate customers, including small and medium-size enterprises. Riyad Bank offers innovative and remarkable financing solutions through a network of 340 licensed branches, and more than 138,511 POS, in addition to more than 2,242 ATMs well distributed in strategic & carefully selected locations around the Kingdom.

Northridge Capital, LLC, based in Washington, D.C., is an independent real estate asset management firm that has invested in 62 assets on behalf of investors, with a combined acquisition value of $2.49 billion. Since its founding in 1997, the company has focused on generating superior risk-adjusted returns for international high net-worth individuals and institutions. It acquires, manages and sells real estate assets across a wide variety of property types and geographic areas. For more information, visit northridgecapital.com.