Radisson Hotel Harrisburg sells for $5.9M, auctioned after defaulting on bank loan

The Radisson Hotel Harrisburg in Camp Hill sold for $5.9 million to an undisclosed buyer on Wednesday after a two-day auction.

The 250-room hotel located directly off Highway 15 was listed for auction shortly after former owners Penn Lodge Partners defaulted on a loan from M&T Bank last year.

The Buffalo-New York based bank filed a complaint in Cumberland County Court against the Delaware limited partnership in December, noting that the firm owed the bank over $11 million.

In the December complaint, M&T wrote that Penn Lodge had informed the lender that it had seen a decline in revenue.

“Defendant has advised the lender that the hotel business is suffering substantial cash flow shortages and, as a result thereof, the hotel business operations may cease in the immediate future,” the company wrote in the complaint.

Michael Gallerizzo, a partner at Gebhardt & Smith LLP, a Baltimore, Maryland-based law firm providing counsel to M&T, was unable to comment on the ongoing litigation.

The 45,000-square-foot Radisson Hotel Harrisburg was built in 1964 and sits on 15.88 acres in Camp Hill. The hotel has 30,000 square feet of meeting space and features a business center, a fitness center, a pool, two restaurants, on-site retail and an on-site bar.

The hotel was listed for auction last week by HREC Investment Advisors, a lodging and gaming real estate advisory firm. It was sold for $5.9 million, according to Abc27.

The hotel industry took a massive dive in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the Radisson had strong top-line revenues, including over $8 million in year-end 2019, according to HREC.

“The hotel had strong pre-COVID revenues, and we believe there is additional revenue and cash flow upside following the completion of a renovation and change in operational strategy,” the real estate firm wrote in the hotel’s listing. “A new owner will have the opportunity to improve the property’s position and capitalize on the hotel’s well-established presence in the market.”