Marquis Tower gets new loan for ME Miami Hotel and STK Rebel steakhouse

Marquis Tower in Miami
Marquis Tower in Miami

Marquis Tower has secured a $16 million mezzanine loan for the upcoming ME Miami hotel and STK Rebel steakhouse at the 67-story building at 1100 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, the lender, New York-based Terra Capital Partners, announced Friday.

The influx of money will help to renovate the former 56-room Casa Moderna Hotel into a 129-room ME Miami hotel, which will open later this year, operated by Madrid-based Meliá Hotels International.

ME Miami will be Meliá Hotels International’s first South Florida hotel.

The funds also will be used for the STK Rebel steakhouse, part of 10,000 square feet of restaurant and meeting space that will be managed by The One Group, which will also provide food and beverage services to the hotel guests, Terra said in a press release. The One Group and Meliá have similar operating partnerships at other properties, including the ME Milan and ME London hotels.

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STK operates a restaurant at 2311 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, as well as in New York, Los Angeles, London, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Milan and Washington, D.C., but its new STK Rebel concept is yet to be launched. An STK Rebel is in the works in Denver, as well as in Miami, according to The One Group’s website. STK Rebel offers “a slightly broader menu targeting both lunch and dinner guests at a more accessible price point,” the website says.

Terra’s loan, together with $38 million in senior financing from Prime Finance, replaces a $53 million acquisition loan from January 2014 provided by Michael Dell’s MSD Capital.

The project’s developer, Miami-based CGI Merchant Group, has completed its development plans, finalized operating and design agreements with The One Group and Meliá, and secured all permits and approvals, prior to the new loan closing, Terra said. Collateral for the loan also includes a  156-space parking garage and two wallscapes leased to Apple and GM.  The residential portion of Marquis Tower, consisting of 290 condos that were sold after the building was completed a few years ago, is not part of Terra’s collateral, the firm said.

“We are excited to be part of this dynamic hospitality project in one of the fastest growing urban centers in the country,” said Adam Kies, managing director of Terra Capital Partners, in a statement. Since 2002, the firm has financed more than 300 properties nationwide, with than 45 million square feet of space.