TMGOC Ventures Secures $105M for Savannah Luxury Hotel

TMGOC Ventures has secured a $104.5 million construction loan from The LCP Group LP to redevelop two office buildings into a 168-key luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel in the heart of Savannah, Ga. Walker & Dunlop arranged the deal.

Approved by the Savannah Historic Board of Review in 2023, The Ritz-Carlton Savannah will be owned by TMGOC and operated by The Ritz-Carlton, one of Marriott International’s iconic luxury brands.

The project involves the redevelopment of two office buildings, including the Savannah Skyscraper. Constructed in 1911, it was downtown Savannah’s tallest building and a designated historic structure. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2028.

To bring this project to fruition, TMGOC will also use federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credit programs, allowing for tax credits for qualified expenditures and local property tax abatement programs.

Turning historic office skyscraper into hotel

TMGOC broke ground on the adaptive-reuse project at 2 E. Bryan St. last week. Interior designer Martin Brudnizki Design Studio and architectural firm Mc+G Architecture are overseeing the design process.

The 15-story, 190,000-square-foot hotel will include a signature restaurant, lobby lounge, rooftop bar and pool; a 5,000-square-foot spa and wellness center; and more than 5,000 square feet of meeting space. There will be amenities and multiple food and beverage outlets across the hotel’s lower level, ground floor, second floor and rooftop.

The property is in the city’s historic district, one of the Southeast’s most constrained markets for new development. Walker & Dunlop executives noted recent zoning limits high-density hotels and prohibits demolition of historic structures, creating a rare investment and redevelopment opportunity.

The site has immediate proximity to Savannah Convention Center and Forsyth Park as well as River Street, a historic cobblestone-lined street along the Savannah River with boutiques, galleries, artists’ studios, restaurants and pubs in restored cotton warehouses.

Walker & Dunlop Senior Managing Directors Aaron Appel, Jonathan Schwartz, Keith Kurland, Adam Schwartz, Dustin Stolly; Managing Directors Ari Hirt, Sean Reimer and Associate Jason Schwartzberg of the Capital Markets team arranged the loan. Senior Managing Director Jay Morrow and Senior Director Carter Gradwell assisted and advised TMGOC throughout the process.

TMGOC’s growing Sun Belt portfolio

Founded in 2019, TMGOC features partnerships with leading hotel brands including Ritz-Carlton, Autograph Collection, Curio Collection by Hilton and Moxy by Marriott. The firm’s portfolio consists of more than $1.4 billion in existing and under-development investments comprising 3,312 hotel keys, along with opportunistic multifamily, office and retail properties.

TMGOC’s Savannah footprint also includes the 129-key Aloft Savannah Airport, a select-service hotel at 1423 Benton Blvd. in Pooler, Ga. The firm acquired the asset in 2022.

While its portfolio currently includes properties primarily in the Southeast, TMGOC plans to expand to key markets in Arizona, Colorado and Utah.

Late last year, TMGOC teamed with Ad Astra Capital on their first joint acquisition, the 162-key Home2 Suites by Hilton in Fort Worth, Texas. It is the second purpose-built Home2 Suites in the portfolio and its first in Texas.