Finance Lending
$375M in Funding to Kick Off Michigan Casino Project
May 7, 2008
By: Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

The last piece of the financial puzzle for constructing the FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Mich., has been put in place with the FireKeepers Development Authority's closing on $375 million in financing.

With a $340 million Senior Secured Note and a $35 million F&E facility in place, work can commence on FireKeepers Casino. Located about an hour from Lansing and two hours from Detroit, the property will initially feature a 230,000-square-foot casino, restaurants, as well as a covered parking facility to accommodate 2,000 vehicles.

The FireKeepers Authority has charged Gaming Entertainment Michigan L.L.C., a joint venture of which Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts Inc. is a 50 percent owner, with handling the project's construction. Upon completion, GEM will oversee management of FireKeepers Casino for a seven-year period. Joint venture partner Full House presently has its hands in other pies in Michigan. The company has a contract with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians for the development and management of a premier casino resort in suburban Battle Creek.

A June groundbreaking is in the works for FireKeepers Casino, which is scheduled to open its doors in the summer of next year.

 
Recent Lending Headlines
Corus Bank Completes $60M Loan to Finance MF Construction in Washington, D.C.
July 03, 2008
Corus Bankshares Inc. said that its banking subsidiary, Corus Bank, closed a $60 million loan to a joint venture between The Cohen Cos. and O’Connor Capital Partners L.L.C. to finance the construction of Velocity, a 14-story condominium building located at 1025 First Street SE in Washington, D.C.
Carlton Arranges $630M Equity, Debt Recapitalization of Manhattan Retail Complex
July 03, 2008
Carlton Advisory Services announce the $630 million equity and debt recapitalization of the retail condominium at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City.
$7B Loan for Las Vegas Sands?
July 03, 2008
Las Vegas Sands Corp. is considering taking out a $7 billion loan to expand and refinance debt for its endeavors in Macau, according to a Bloomberg article.
Holliday Fenoglio Arranges $23M Construction Loan for Houston Office Development
July 02, 2008
The Houston office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. arranged a $23.5 million construction loan for a speculative class A, 180,000-square-foot office development in The Woodlands, Tex.
JV Lands Largest U.S. Construction Loan of Year
July 01, 2008
The Carlyle Group, Extell Development Co. and RREEF Alternative Investments have pulled off quite a financing coup, securing a $613 million construction loan for an upscale two-building residential project in Manhattan. The financing deal represents the biggest construction loan attained in the United States thus far this year.
 

 

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