CHICAGO—AJ Capital Partners has closed on the refinancing of the Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans. After a thorough marketing campaign, AJ Capital selected Wells Fargo to provide a $25-million senior mortgage at an accretive cost of capital.
According to the company, this capital market execution reflects the strong operating results and local presence the hotel has achieved since reopening in June 2016, following a comprehensive redevelopment and represents a material increase in value.
The 106-room Pontchartrain Hotel is located on St. Charles Ave. in the Garden District. Our House Hospitality—the hotel F&B management arm of the Besh Restaurant Group—operates the hotel’s four F&B concepts: the Caribbean Room, Bayou Bar, Silver Whistle Café and Hot Tin, a rooftop bar with views of downtown New Orleans and the Mississippi River. Earlier this year, the hotel opened Nickel Parlor, a 2,790–sq.-ft. event space.
Originally built in 1927 and named after the Count de Pontchartrain, a member of Louis XVI’s court, the hotel earned its notoriety with visits from notables such as Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth, Truman Capote, Gerald Ford and Tennessee Williams, who wrote A Streetcar Named Desire while living at the hotel.