May 25, 2022 The Montford Group. and Opterra Capital Acquire Newly Opened Aloft Savannah Airport Hotel, Companies Announce Joint Venture to Fuel Growth in Hotel Sector And Set Sights on National Expansion
CHARLESTON, S.C. / BOCA RATON, FL. – May 25, 2022 – The Montford Group. and Opterra Capital today announced that they have closed on the acquisition of the new, 129-room Aloft Savannah Airport hotel by Marriott, the only select-service lifestyle hotel at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and in the surrounding Pooler sub-market of Savannah.
The Aloft Savannah Airport hotel celebrated its opening on May 17, 2022, and the companies completed their acquisition of the property on May 25, 2022, marking their second Aloft-branded hotel under ownership and their inaugural hotel venture in Georgia. Aimbridge Hospitality has been selected to manage the property on behalf of ownership.
“Savannah has been a priority market for us to break into given the city’s strong market fundamentals and growing demand profile,” said Glenn Alba, Founder and CEO of Opterra Capital. “The Savannah airport market is poised for continued record growth and the Pooler submarket is seeing a significant expansion in multifamily and single-family residential, coupled with increased cargo capabilities through the Port, making this a very attractive investment opportunity. We are excited to have the opportunity to have a presence in this vibrant, dynamically growing city.”
Located three miles from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, the Aloft Savannah Airport hotel offers business and leisure travelers alike convenient, walkable access to the restaurants and shops at Tanger Outlets, and a modern, yet affordable lodging option within a 20-minute drive to Savannah’s vibrant Historic District. Frequently ranked among the “Best U.S. Cities” in Travel + Leisure’s Readers’ Choice Awards, Savannah enjoys an enviable reputation as a top leisure and drive-market destination, enabling it to outperform other U.S. hotel markets during the pandemic recovery.
The pet-friendly Aloft Savannah Airport hotel is home to 129 stylish guest rooms designed with the brand’s signature loft-like layout, featuring nine-foot ceilings, plush platform beds and simple contemporary décor. Each guest room is equipped with free Wi-Fi, keyless Mobile Key entry, a concierge tablet, and minimalist bathrooms with custom bath amenities and rain-fall showers. Catering to a tech-savvy, music-loving crowd, the hotel offers guests the brand’s standout amenities, including Re:mix℠ lounge featuring live music, signature craft cocktails and light bites at W XYZ® bar, Re:charge℠ fitness center, Splash℠ outdoor pool, and EV charging stations.
The Aloft Savannah Airport hotel is located at 1423 Benton Boulevard in Pooler, GA., and hotel reservations can be made through the Marriott website: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/savat-aloft-savannah-airport/overview/
Companies Formalize Partnership with New Joint Venture
In tandem with the Aloft Savannah Airport acquisition, the companies also announced the launch of their joint venture, TMGOC Ventures.
“After a few years of successful joint investments and development deals facilitated by The Montford Group. and Opterra Capital offices, we felt this was an opportune time to launch our joint venture,” said Sunju Patel, Founder and CEO of Charleston-based The Montford Group. “We are excited to formalize our union as we look to expand our development and investment opportunities within the hospitality space and build a national portfolio of iconic and value-add properties.”
“We are eager to expand our footprint beyond the Southeast region, and with the breadth of experience we offer as a combined entity, we are confident that we can play nimbly in the resort space, urban city centers, or the extended stay realm,” adds Alba. “And because of our deep, long-standing relationships across the highest levels of the hospitality and capital markets spectrum, we are able to partner with leading global hotel companies and top brands to bring innovative hotel products to under-supplied and high-growth markets.”
Since 2019, The Montford Group. and Opterra Capital have partnered on multiple transactions across the hotel, multifamily and office sectors, totaling more than $700 million in existing and pipeline development assets. Today, the TMGOC Ventures portfolio features 14 hotels under ownership and development predominately on the East Coast in key markets in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, and Georgia, including four ground-up lifestyle and independent hotels that the duo is developing in Charleston – one of the nation’s most dynamic hotel markets and leisure destinations. In 2021, the joint venture closed over $200M in real estate transactions, including the acquisition of five hotel assets in Florida markets with high growth potential.
Patel and Alba will serve as managing partners of the joint venture, strategically guiding its targeted growth across lifestyle, independent, select service and extended stay segments. With a 20-year tenure at Blackstone Real Estate where he led asset management for the firm’s hotel investments in the U.S. and Western Europe, Alba brings an institutional, capital markets mindset to the landscape of hotel acquisitions and development. Patel, a real estate entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in investments, dispositions, acquisitions and both horizontal and vertical development, adds to the TMGOC Ventures equation a visionary, creative approach, and street-smart sensibility to deal-making and new construction developments.
Recent TMGOC Ventures acquisitions and upcoming developments include the 136-key Aloft Jacksonville Airport hotel in Jacksonville, Fla.; the 180-room Hotel Melby, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, in Melbourne, FL; the 131-key Moxy Charleston by Marriott, currently under construction and slated to open in late 2022; three other branded and independent lifestyle hotels in Charleston, currently in design and planning; a 208-key branded lifestyle hotel in Charlotte, N.C. expected to break ground in 2022; and a 150-key hotel in Macon, GA. that will be part of a transformative mixed-used development with residential, retail and entertainment.
TMGOC Ventures is headquartered in Charleston, S.C. and Boca Raton, FL., with regional offices in Oakland, CA., and Miami.
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About The Montford Group.
The Montford Group. is a real estate investment and development company with more than 50 years combined experience in real estate investments, acquisitions, and dispositions along with horizontal and vertical development. From the creative minds of seasoned entrepreneur duo Sunju Patel and Jessica Reid, The Montford Group. set off to curate an unrivaled collection of unique properties and remarkable experiences for people who believe that home and hospitality shouldn’t be rare finds, but the common ground that unites us. The company has developed two hotels in Charleston (totaling 229 keys) as well as approximately 190,000 SF of residential properties, 275,000 SF of retail space, 500,000 SF of industrial space, 225,000 SF of office space and 90,000 SF of medical office and hospital space. Today, their portfolio consists of over 40,000 SF of office and retail along with over 2,781 hotel keys of existing and ground-up development that include Moxy by Marriott and Thompson by Hyatt hotels. For more information, visit www.themontfordgroup.com.com.
About Opterra Capital, LLC
Opterra Capital is a Boca Raton, Florida-based real estate investment sponsor and operating partner, capital markets advisor, and asset manager with significant experience in all sectors of commercial real estate. Founded by Glenn Alba, a former Managing Director at Blackstone for 20 years, Opterra Capital consists of five industry professional principals with more than 80 years of experience in hotel ownership, asset management and development. Opterra Capital seeks to leverage this expertise towards value-add acquisitions and proactive investment management to deliver attractive, risk-adjusted returns. For more information, visit www.opterracapital.com.
About TMGOC Ventures
TMGOC Ventures is a real estate private equity and development company specializing in the hospitality and multifamily sectors. A joint venture between The Montford Group. and Opterra Capital, TMGOC is focused on acquiring and developing a robust hotel and residential portfolio that creates value for investors, partners and communities. With over 125 years of combined experience, TMGOC is led by Managing Partners Sunju Patel and Glenn Alba and a team of industry experts with fully integrated experience in hotel acquisitions, development and asset management, and deep market knowledge across the United States, Caribbean, Canada, and Western Europe. Since 2019, TMGOC has invested in and developed 14 hotels along with office and multifamily real estate and is strategically poised to grow its portfolio nationally. TMGOC maintains corporate offices in Charleston, S.C., Oakland, CA., Miami, and Boca Raton, FL.
About Aimbridge Hospitality
Aimbridge Hospitality is a leading, global hospitality company offering best-in-class hotel management services across a broad spectrum of franchised branded full service, select service, luxury hotels, destination resorts, convention centers and lifestyle hotels. Aimbridge’s premium portfolio represents over 1,500 properties in 50 states and 23 countries, inclusive of pipeline. With the most robust brand diversity in the industry, Aimbridge operates 84 lodging brands, in addition to more than 90 independent boutique/lifestyle hotels in the portfolio. As the world’s largest third-party operator, Aimbridge is dedicated to its mission to leverage its scale to add value for owners and opportunities for associates better than any other hotel operator. Aligned with a concentrated focus, agility, and expertise for each vertical, Aimbridge drives market success for hotels and optimizes investment returns for owners. Aimbridge Hospitality’s global headquarters is based in Plano, Texas, with additional corporate offices in Atlanta, Calgary, Fargo, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. Evolution Hospitality, Aimbridge’s Lifestyle Division, is based in San Clemente, California, Aimbridge’s International Division, Interstate Hotels & Resorts, has supporting offices across Europe in Amsterdam, Birmingham, and Glasgow. The company’s division in Mexico, Group Hotelero Prisma, has offices in Monterrey and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.aimbridgehospitality.com and connect with Aimbridge on LinkedIn.
