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First American Realty Open Dallas Office, Appoints VP Of Business Development And Finances 500th Hotel

Joe Epstein, founder and president of First American Realty Associates, today announced the opening of a regional office in Dallas and the appointment of Cameron Larkin to the position of Vice President of Business Development.

Larkin has 13 years of experience in the financial services and management consulting industries working with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and General Electric (GE). He spent the last ten years working across six of GE's consumer finance businesses in the US and Europe. Larkin has a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Vermont and a MBA from Columbia University.

As First American begins its thirtieth year, the company has achieved a major milestone by financing its 500th hotel - the Hilton Christiana in Newark, Del. In addition, over the past year, the company has completed the financing of nine hotels in six states totaling over $75 million.

Of the nine hotels financed, two of the loans were obtained for Southeastern Hospitality Real Estate of Winston-Salem, N.C. The first was to refinance their 112-unit Wingate Hotel and City Hall Office Building in Winston-Salem, N.C., in the amount of $16.56 million. The second was an acquisition loan in the amount of $2.5 million for the purchase of the 30-unit J. H. Adams Inn, a boutique hotel located in High Point, N.C.

A construction loan miniperm in the amount of $3.23 million was secured on the 82-unit AmeriHost Inn & Suites in Lansing, Mich., for Arlington Hospitality, Inc.

Acquisition financing was arranged on three properties: $2.2 million on the 103-unit Hospitality Inn in Pensacola, Fla., for SAJ Hospitality; $1.87 million on the 124-unit Hospitality Inn also located in Pensacola, Fla., for Hospitality Inn NAS; and $5.45 million on the 138-unit LaQuinta Inn in Valdosta, Ga., for Randall Associates, LLC.

Long-term, fixed-rate, non-recourse loans were placed on three properties: $7.5 million on the 131-unit Hampton Inn in Bowling Green, Ky., for Newport Patriot, LLC; $8.35 million on the 122-unit Residence Inn in Miami, Fla., for Miami W. Airport Partnership, LLC; and $27.25 million on the 266-unit Hilton Christiana Hotel in Newark, Del., for MJ Wilmington Hotel Associates, L.P.

Founded in 1976, First American Realty Associates is a leading mortgage lending source for the lodging industry. It has financed 502 properties in 44 states totaling $1.99 billion. First American places long and short-term fixed and floating rate debt on existing hotels and also provides construction loans with or without take-outs, standby commitments, renovation/ conversion loans, participating mortgages, bridge loans and a variety of secondary and mezzanine financing.