NYC Investors Make CAD$330 Million Investment in Toronto’s Hotel Market in Partnership with Korea’s KTB Asset Management

Date: October 2018

Location: Princes’ Boulevard in the heart of Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada

Name: Hotel X Toronto – opened April 2018

No. of Keys: 404

Owner/Seller: The property is owned by a limited partnership consisting of New York-based Henry Kallan, Alex Rovt, and Joshua Durst and is operated by the Library Hotel Collection, which owns and operates seven luxury boutique hotels worldwide.

Each property shares a commitment to providing timeless beauty, exceptional value, and outstanding guest experiences.

Founded by Henry Kallan in 1992, the collection currently consists of the Library Hotel, Hotel Elysee, Casablanca Hotel, and Hotel Giraffe in New York City, Aria Hotel Prague, Aria Hotel Budapest, and Hotel X Toronto.

Ken Picache of Chelan Advisors LLC and Paul Faver of JB Real Estate Advisors LLC advised the owners of Hotel X Toronto on the transaction.

Buyer: Korean fund manager KTB has backed US investors in a Toronto hotel deal. The CAD$165m, five year loan represents around half of the value in the recently opened Hotel X.

KTB Asset Management is a subsidiary of KTB Financial Group, a top-tier financial group with 6 subsidiaries and over 40 affiliates.

KTB Asset Management currently manages USD$2 billion of U.S. commercial real estate debt with a significant global track record of doing real estate deals in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. KTB is headquartered in Seoul, Korea.

KTB, with the help of Bridgerock Realty Advisors, LLC, as their local advisor and ongoing servicer, won the mandate in a competitive bidding process. KTB and Bridgerock have worked together on several loan originations in the United States, including providing whole loans on the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott and 285 Madison Avenue in New York City.

“We are delighted to have worked with the sponsors of Hotel X in completing this historic transaction for Korean investors,” said Jaesang Eum, Head of Global Alternative Investments at KTB. He added, “Although Korean investors have been one of the most active global real estate investors over the past 5 years, this is one of the first large loans originated by them in the Canadian market. This is an untapped market for Korean investors and we look forward to bringing more Korean capital to the Canadian real estate market.”

“It was a pleasure to work with the teams at KTB and Bridgerock. We enjoyed working with them to close the loan,” said Henry Kallan, Founder and President of the Library Hotel Collection. He added, “We’re excited to complete the launch of Hotel X. There is nothing like it in the Toronto hotel market. As we tell our guests, ‘Expect the extraordinary.'”

Hotel X Toronto is a newly constructed luxury lakefront urban resort that brings to Toronto a cutting-edge mix of hospitality, sports, and entertainment.

Housed in a modernistic iconic tower that rises 30 floors above the waterfront, the property features Ten X, a 90,000 sf private member sports club including four indoor tennis courts, nine squash courts, golf simulator, state-of-the-art fitness equipment, and dedicated studios for yoga, pilates, group fitness, and spinning.

Surrounded by six acres of beautiful gardens, Hotel X boasts spectacular views of Downtown Toronto and Lake Ontario and offers numerous amenities, including multiple dining options, year-round rooftop pool, tri-level rooftop bar with both indoor and outdoor space, 60-seat screening room and 250-seat cinema with stadium style seating, and luxury spa (coming 2019).

To complement the property’s inspiring contemporary design, the walls throughout the property and rooms display more than 700 landscape images from around the world taken by one of Canada’s leading outdoor photographers, who was commissioned by Hotel X to travel the globe and create the collection.

Immediately adjacent to the property is Stanley Barracks. Built in 1840 by the British Military, Stanley Barracks will house the Barracks Pub and Beer Garden.

With over 83,000 sf of creative and exceptionally designed indoor and outdoor space across 17 distinctive flexible spaces with breathtaking views, Hotel X is set to be one of the most sought-after meeting and event venues in Toronto.

With more than 5.5 million visitors a year, Exhibition Place is a 192-acre complex that includes exhibit and trade centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments, parkland, professional sports venues, and a number of civic, provincial, and national historic sites.

The district’s facilities are used year-round for exhibitions, trade-shows, public and private functions, music concerts, and sporting events and include Beanfield Centre, Better Living Centre, Enercare Centre, BMO Field, Bandshell Park, Coca-Cola Coliseum, and Budweiser Stage.

THPT Comment: Do you think the hotel name was a working title and they forgot to change it? Seriously their hotels in NY and the two in Europe are great….Toronto marks a shift away from boutique with over 400 rooms.

First Seen: Cision PR Newswire