Ascendant Capital Secures 965-Room Mid-Atlantic Hospitality Portfolio from Coastal

965-room collection comprised predominantly of beachfront assets

Los Angeles-based Ascendant Capital Partners, a vertically integrated real estate investment and operating platform, has announced the acquisition of an eight-hotel portfolio from Coastal Hospitality Associates, LLC. The Portfolio comprises 965 predominantly beachfront rooms across six hotels in Virginia Beach, VA, and two hotels in the Outer Banks, NC, furthering Ascendant’s strategic focus on institutional-quality hospitality assets in durable, demand-driven leisure destinations.

The Portfolio was assembled over decades by the late Thomas J. Lyons, Jr., founder of Coastal Hospitality, a pioneering hotel developer widely recognized for helping transform the Virginia Beach oceanfront into a national hospitality destination. Beginning with the acquisition of a 12-room inn in 1968, Lyons developed nearly 40 hotels across Virginia and North Carolina, establishing one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most respected privately owned hospitality portfolios.

Ascendant will seek to implement targeted capital and operational enhancements across the Portfolio, including executing select guest-facing improvements to strengthen asset performance and guest experience. In conjunction with the closing, Schulte Hospitality Group (SHG), a best-in-class hospitality management and development company, will assume operations of the Portfolio.

“This transaction reflects the continued execution of our differentiated hospitality strategy, which is focused on high-quality assets in dynamic, supply-constrained markets with resilient demand drivers,” said Alex Halpern, co-founder and chief investment officer of Ascendant. “The Portfolio offers a unique concentration of beachfront properties in established Southeastern destinations, supported by a diverse mix of tourism, government and corporate demand. Thomas J. Lyons, Jr. spent decades assembling and developing one of the premier hospitality portfolios in Virginia and the Outer Banks, and we are honored to continue that legacy while investing in the long-term success of these exceptional properties.”

Seven of the eight properties are beachfront, with most rooms offering direct ocean views and outdoor balconies, while the remaining asset is a centrally located town center hotel. The Portfolio benefits from long-standing leisure travel as well as government, military and group demand drivers.

“We have built and operated this Portfolio with an unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences, and we are proud of the operational success and renovations we’ve achieved under our ownership,” said Christopher Brown, president of Coastal Hospitality. “Ascendant brings deep expertise in hospitality, and we are confident their team will build on the strong foundation that has been established across the Portfolio.”

“We are excited to deepen our partnership with Ascendant and bring our operational expertise to assets with strong fundamentals and significant upside potential,” said Darryl Schulte, CEO of SHG. “Our team will focus on driving performance through disciplined execution, enhanced commercial strategies and delivering a high-quality experience for guests across each of these properties.”

CBRE Hotels served as sell-side advisor to Coastal Hospitality, and CBRE Debt & Structured Finance served as financing advisor to Ascendant.

Information for this article was sourced from Ascendant Capital Partners.