Starwood Capital Group and South Street Partners Complete Purchase of North Beach Towers

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. and GREENWICH, Conn., Jan. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- An affiliate of Starwood Capital Group ("Starwood"), a leading investment firm focused on real estate, and South Street Partners ("South Street") today announced they have completed the acquisition of North Beach Towers, including assuming control of the remaining units and the outstanding bank debt, which was acquired in an off-market transaction at a significant discount to face value, of the North Myrtle Beach, S.C. property. 

Measuring 216 feet high and encompassing almost one million square feet, North Beach Towers, located on the ocean at the south boundary of North Myrtle Beach, is the largest oceanfront condominium ever constructed on the Grand Strand.  With its elaborate "Atlantis" like bridged towers shape and its classic Georgian architecture, the project has been widely acclaimed as a regional architectural landmark. As designed by Pegram Assoc. Architects and built by Dargan Construction, the project broke ground in 2006 and was completed early in 2009. 

Starwood and South Street currently expect their strategy will be to maintain North Beach's current sales and marketing program and will not introduce timeshare nor any other alternative sales options.  North Beach Towers has been the best selling oceanfront project in the Myrtle Beach market over the last three years, selling over 220 condominiums, representing over 50% of all oceanfront sales in the market.  David Stradinger, the property's developer, and his team will continue to provide development management services for the new ownership group. Stradinger has developed over 3,000 condominiums, townhomes, and single family dwellings in addition to five golf course communities over his 30+ year career.

"We are very excited about our investment in the premier, oceanfront condominium project in the Myrtle Beach market.  This best-in-class asset offers its residents the highest quality construction, interior unit finishes and amenities available in the market and is well positioned for success going forward," said Mark Keatley, a Senior Vice President at Starwood Capital Group.  "South Street is an experienced, value-added partner and we are pleased to be working with them on this venture."

"With this transaction, Starwood Capital Group has now purchased loans from 17 different U.S. and European banks over the last three years as part of its ongoing and successful strategy to acquire high-upside properties via discounted debt purchases," said Chris Graham, a Managing Director at Starwood Capital. "North Beach Towers is a perfect fit into that portfolio, and we intend to continue pursuing this strategy going forward."

"Working with Starwood, one of the world's most successful real estate investment groups, on this impressive project is a fantastic opportunity," said Patrick Melton of South Street Partners.  "David and his team have established a strong track-record for this development and we look forward to working with them to build upon their early success."

About Starwood Capital Group

Starwood Capital Group is a private, U.S.-based investment firm with a core focus on global real estate.  Since the group's inception in 1991, the firm, through its various funds, has invested over $10 billion of equity capital, representing over $29 billion in assets.  Starwood Capital Group currently has $19 billion of assets under management. Starwood Capital Group maintains offices in Greenwich, Atlanta, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and affiliated offices in London, Luxembourg, Paris, Mumbai and Sao Paulo.  Starwood Capital Group has invested in nearly every class of real estate on a global basis, including office, retail, residential, senior housing, golf, hotels, resorts and industrial assets.  Starwood Capital Group and its affiliates have successfully executed an investment strategy that includes building enterprises around core real estate portfolios in both the private and public markets.  Additional information about Starwood Capital can be found at www.starwoodcapital.com.

About South Street

South Street Partners is a Charlotte, NC based real estate investment, management and development company focused on acquiring, managing and strategically exiting distressed real estate assets or the debt collateralized by such across all real estate sectors with a focus on large metropolitan areas in the Southeastern United States.  South Street's principals also have significant past experience in high-end residential projects located in resort destinations such as Cabo San Lucas, Hawaii, The Bahamas, Cashiers, NC and other locations throughout the United States. Additional information about South Street Partners can be found at www.southstreetpartners.com

SOURCE Starwood Capital Group