Peachtree Group Wins USCIS EB-5 Approval for 150-Room Homewood Suites by Hilton

(SUGAR MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA) — Peachtree Group received USCIS EB-5 visa approval on April 2, 2026, for its regional center to fund the construction of a Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel in Sugar Mountain, North Carolina.

The approval allows the Atlanta-based real estate investment and development firm to raise foreign capital through the EB-5 immigrant investor program for the hotel project near Sugar Mountain Ski Resort and Beech Mountain Ski Resort. Peachtree said the hotel will have 120 rooms, though some reports put the count at 116.

Peachtree originated a $28 million EB-5-backed senior mortgage loan to Miami-based developer Morlin Group for the development. Morlin Group acquired the 8.65-acre site in April 2025.

Greg Friedman, CEO of Peachtree Group, said the approval clears the way for a project the company has tied to jobs and local economic activity. “We are thrilled to receive USCIS approval for our EB-5 regional center, which will allow us to leverage foreign investment to bring this new Homewood Suites hotel to Sugar Mountain. This project will create jobs and economic opportunity in the local community.”

The deal adds another project to Peachtree’s EB-5 business at a time when developers continue to use immigrant investor financing to fill part of the capital stack for hotel construction. Adam Greene, EVP of EB-5 at Peachtree, said EB-5 funding gives developers better terms than traditional sources and described the transaction as Peachtree’s fifth such deal since 2023.

Under the EB-5 program, investors must put money into projects that create at least 10 full-time U.S. jobs to qualify for permanent residency. Peachtree said the Sugar Mountain development exceeds that threshold.

The company is targeting 35 EB-5 investors at a minimum investment of $800,000 each. The project qualifies as a Targeted Employment Area due to its rural location and high unemployment.

Peachtree said the development is expected to create approximately 75 jobs upon completion, while total projected new jobs reach 471. That works out to 13.45 jobs per investor, above the level required for EB-5 eligibility.

Construction has either begun or is underway, with groundbreaking held recently. At the same time, the project timeline also says the start is expected in Q3 2026, while opening is targeted for Q2 2027.

Seth Fellman, President and CEO of Morlin Group, confirmed the Q2 2027 completion target. That schedule would put the hotel in service ahead of a summer travel season in a mountain market tied to nearby resorts.

Plans for the Homewood Suites by Hilton call for an indoor pool, a fitness center, a 50-seat bistro lounge, and 3,000 square feet of event space. Those features place the project squarely in the extended-stay hotel segment while also giving it meeting and social space.

The site’s location near Sugar Mountain Ski Resort and Beech Mountain Ski Resort is central to the project’s pitch. A hotel in that corridor would serve a tourism area known for seasonal resort traffic.

For Peachtree Group, the USCIS EB-5 approval gives formal backing to a fundraising effort already tied to a defined development loan and a named borrower. For Morlin Group, it opens access to a pool of foreign investor capital structured around the federal visa program.

The financing plan is straightforward on its face. Peachtree provides the $28 million EB-5-backed senior mortgage loan, Morlin Group develops the hotel, and the EB-5 regional center raises the foreign capital from investors seeking residency through job creation.

That structure matters because the EB-5 program does not turn on investment alone. Each investor must be linked to the creation of at least 10 full-time U.S. jobs, and Peachtree said this project clears that bar by a comfortable margin.

The company’s figures show why. With 35 EB-5 investors targeted and 471 total projected new jobs, the project is expected to generate 13.45 jobs per investor.

That calculation sits at the center of the offering. Without enough jobs, investors cannot meet the residency standard built into the program.

Sugar Mountain’s designation as a Targeted Employment Area also shapes the fundraising terms. Because the project sits in a rural location with high unemployment, the minimum investment is set at $800,000 each.

For developers, that can make EB-5 money more attractive than some other capital sources. Greene said as much in discussing the deal, saying EB-5 funding offers better terms than traditional sources.

Peachtree did not frame the approval as a stand-alone event. It tied the decision to a project already in motion, with the land acquired in April 2025, groundbreaking held recently, and a timetable running through Q2 2027.

Even so, some project details show the kind of overlap that often accompanies active development work. The hotel room count appears as 120 in some descriptions and 116 in others, while the construction language says both that work began or is underway and that the start is expected in Q3 2026.

Those differences do not change the core facts Peachtree presented. USCIS approved the EB-5 regional center funding path on April 2, 2026, and the approval covers a Homewood Suites by Hilton project in Sugar Mountain.

The project also sits against another point of clarification around Peachtree’s EB-5 pipeline. Separate references point to a distinct Peachtree EB-5 approval for a Home2 Suites by Hilton, but that project does not match the Sugar Mountain Homewood Suites details.

That distinction matters because both involve Peachtree and Hilton-branded hotels, yet they are not the same development. The Sugar Mountain project is the Homewood Suites by Hilton tied to the April 2, 2026 USCIS EB-5 approval.

Another wrinkle emerged in April 2026 on Peachtree’s own EB-5 website. The site listed the Homewood Suites project as “Pending I-956F Approval” even though news of the USCIS approval had already been announced.

The mismatch left a split between the company’s posted project status and its announcement of the federal approval. Peachtree’s announcement, however, directly said it had received USCIS EB-5 visa approval for its regional center to fund the hotel.

For local officials and residents, the part likely to draw the closest attention is job creation and the hotel’s effect on the resort area economy. Peachtree’s public comments stressed that point, and Friedman’s statement put community impact at the center of the company’s message.

The development’s size also makes it notable for a mountain market. A Homewood Suites by Hilton with 120 rooms, or 116 by some accounts, plus an indoor pool, fitness center, lounge, and event space would add a sizable lodging option near two ski resorts.

Extended-stay hotels can attract more than one type of guest. The format can serve vacationers, families, event attendees, and travelers staying several nights, though Peachtree’s announcement focused on the hotel’s opening, amenities, and financing rather than a guest mix.

What Peachtree has put before investors is a hotel deal with a defined amount of EB-5-backed debt, a named development company, a site already acquired, and a job projection well above the minimum threshold. In the EB-5 market, those are the facts that tend to shape whether a project can move from approval to fundraising and then to completion.

The milestone also gives Peachtree another marker in a line of deals since 2023. Greene said this is the firm’s fifth such transaction in that period, adding to the company’s record in pairing hotel development with EB-5 capital.

For Morlin Group, the approval supports a project already tied to a fixed completion target. Fellman said the company is aiming for Q2 2027, a timetable that now sits alongside the April 2, 2026 USCIS decision and the site purchase completed in April 2025.

The next test will be execution: attracting the 35 EB-5 investors, keeping construction on schedule, and delivering the hotel with the features Peachtree and Morlin Group have outlined. For now, the approval gives the Sugar Mountain development what Friedman called a path to “bring this new Homewood Suites hotel to Sugar Mountain.”