Queensgate lands $44M acquisition loan on hip Freehand Chicago hotel

Queensgate Investments landed an acquisition loan on the stylish Freehand Chicago in River North, a purchase that was part of a larger hotel portfolio deal.

An entity of the London-based private equity firm secured a $44 million loan on the 215-key hotel, property records show. Column Financial provided the debt on the 16-story hotel, which is located at 19 East Ohio St.

Last month, Queensgate paid $400 million for the portfolio of Freehand Chicago and three other Freehand properties. The seller was New York-based developer Sydell Group and billionaire investor Ron Burkle’s firm Yucaipa.

Sydell and Yucaipa paid $13 million for the property six years ago, and secured a $32 million loan. It gutted the building and undertook major renovations, rebranding it as an affordable hip-hotel. Last year, it had revenue of nearly $11 million, with an operating income of $2.2 million, Crain’s previously reported. It was appraised at $53 million in 2016, according to Bloomberg.

Queensgate did not respond for comment.