IRVING, TX— FelCor Lodging Trust, a REIT, is preparing to begin development of the 251-unit Margate Tower Condominiums in Myrtle Beach, SC. The Margate development project will be owned through a joint venture arrangement between FelCor and Hilton Hotels Corp., with each company owning a 50% interest. FelCor will be the project developer and will oversee all facets of the construction phase of the project, which begins Sept. 1. Construction costs for the condominium tower and attached parking structure will be approximately $100 million. The project is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2004. Financing has been received from Bank of America, N.A., and The Bank of Nova Scotia. The Margate Tower Condominiums will feature 251, two-and-three bedroom units with 80% of the units having dens. The condominiums will range in size from 1,800 to more than 2,700 square feet. Each unit will feature nine foot ceilings, a free flowing living area, gourmet kitchens, covered balconies, floor to ceiling windows, and bathrooms with garden Jacuzzi tubs. Approximately 81% of the units have been pre-sold to qualified buyers under binding contracts. Thomas Corcoran, Jr., FelCors president and CEO, noted that the Margate Condominium development, along with Felcor’s recent acquisition of the Wyndham Myrtle Beach Resort, to be converted to a Hilton hotel, “are a testament to FelCors value creation strategy, in this case working with Hilton, one of our brand manager alliances.” The Margate project site is adjacent to the Embassy Suites Hotel- Kingston Plantation, which is owned by FelCor and managed by Hilton. The Embassy Suites hotel is part of the 145-acre Kingston Plantation master planned oceanfront resort community that includes freshwater lakes, a rolling wooded terrain, a water activity park, and more than 1,600 feet of ocean frontage.
