Fort Myers resort debt heads to special servicer

The owner of the Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort & Spa is asking debt holders for a six-month waiver to requirements that it fund fixtures, furniture and equipment (FF&E) and other reserves amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Columbia Sussex Corp., of Crestview Hills, Ky., made the request after the loan tied to the Fort Myers resort was being sent to “special servicing,” typically an indication that a property is underperforming or failing to meet requirements to satisfy its debt.

Columbia Sussex, which acquired the 11-story resort in August 2007 for $125.1 million from Liberty Mutual Insurance, borrowed $73.6 million via a commercial mortgage-back securities issuance through Wells Fargo N.A. in May 2014, according to real estate researcher Trepp and Lee County property records.

Marriott International Inc. attached its brand to the resort in 2009.

The resort, which was valued at $134 million in late 2013, is apparently generating more than enough cash flow to cover its debt, according to special servicer notes pertaining to the property. Average occupancy last year came in at 59%.

Columbia Sussex is seeking a waiver of six months of FF&E reserves and a delay of the same timeframe on funding seasonal working capital reserves. Company officials did not return telephone calls for comment on the debt or its move to a special servicer.

Sanibel Harbour Marriott, which sits on an 85-acre peninsula in San Carlos Bay, opened in 1988 and was renovated in 2014, according to property records and Trepp.

The 347-room resort, which also contains 30,100 square feet of meeting space, features amenities such as on-site restaurants, swimming pools, a fitness center and its spa.

The 17260 Harbour Point Drive resort is one of 49 lodging properties in 21 states that Columbia Sussex owns, including the Marriott Hilton Head Resort & Spa and the Marriott Myrtle Beach Resort & Grande Dunes in South Carolina; the Marriott Boston Quincy; the JW Marriott Santa Monica Le Merigot; and the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, according to the company’s website.

In Florida, Columbia Sussex also owns the Marriott Orlando Airport Lakeside; the Marriott Hutchinson Island Beach Resort, Golf & Marina in Stuart; the Marriott Tampa Westshore; the Marriott Jacksonville Hotel; and the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa, its website states.