Blackstone Buys Brickell Hotel For Nearly $300M: The South Florida Deal Sheet
Affiliates of Blackstone purchased the East Miami Brickell City Centre hotel for close to $300M.
Blackstone Real Estate purchased the 352-unit hotel from entities linked to a joint venture between Miami-based Trinity Investments and New York-based Certares for $148M, according to property records provided by Vizzda.
According to sources familiar with the deal, the actual purchase price is just under $300M. The deal was announced last week without a price disclosed. Blackstone declined to comment.
Hotels are often traded for more than the price on the deed. Trinity and Certares purchased The East Miami hotel at 788 Brickell Plaza in 2021 for $174M, according to a release, from Swire Properties, which developed the property in 2016.
The deed price at the time was $120M, according to public records. The 40-story building is part of the $1.1B Brickell City Centre mixed-use center, which Swire has been systematically selling in recent years.
The hotel, which also has 89 apartments, totals 536K SF with 20K SF of event and outdoor space, a 20K SF outdoor deck and pool area, and a restaurant and rooftop bar.
SALES
An entity tracing to Schmier Property Group and partners sold the Whole Foods Market-anchored Uptown Boca retail center for $118M to Stockbridge Capital and partners.
JLL's Danny Finkle, Jorge Portela and Kim Flores represented the sellers, Schmier, Giles Capital Group, Rosemurgy Properties and Wheelock Street Capital, according to a JLL release.
The seven-building shopping center, built between 2020 and 2021, spans more than 150K SF on an 18-acre plot at 9536 to 9704 Glades Road in Boca Raton.
The 100% leased center has other tenants like HomeSense, Sephora and Life Time. The property is in the Uptown Boca mixed-use development at 20940 Uptown Ave., which holds 456 residential units.
***
An entity tracing to Lithia Motors purchased two auto dealerships in Palm Beach County for a total of $51M, according to property records provided by Vizzda.
An entity tracing to Ed Napleton Automotive Group sold the 35K SF Acura of Palm Beach for $28M at 6870 Okeechobee Blvd.
Lithia Motors purchased the West Palm Beach Hyundai for $23M. The property consists of three buildings, built in 1966 and 1969, totaling 36K SF at 2301 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
North Development broke ground on the Domus Brickell Center, a 35-story, short-term-rental-approved condo tower at 1034 SW Second Ave. in Brickell, according to a release.
The tower, set to open its doors by the end of 2027, is planned to include 579 fully furnished units with a rooftop pool, bar and grill area, indoor and outdoor gym, coworking spaces, conference room and a restaurant.
North Management, the developer’s in-house management arm, will manage the units ranging from studios to two bedrooms. Units span 400 SF to 1K SF and price between $500K and about $1.5M.
The development is part of North Development's Domus Flats model, following Domus Brickell Park, a 12-story, 171-unit building that was topped off in February, according to a release.
FINANCES
Sympatico Real Estate landed a $62.5M preconstruction loan from JVP Management for a 25-story condo in West Palm Beach, according to a release.
The 193-unit Berkeley at 500 S. Australian Ave. will have two-to-five-bedroom units and four penthouses with prices ranging from $2M to $10M. The project, which launched sales in December, is between 12% and 15% presold.
The developer plans to land construction financing by 2026, according to the release.
LEASES
Three companies signed more than 10K SF of leases at Campus on 5th in Wynwood, developed by Big Move Properties, according to a release.
The largest lease was signed by Danish electric vehicle charging platform Monta. The 5K SF lease will house the company’s new U.S. headquarters with 30 employees. Vestian’s Alec Kirschner represented the company.
Duetti, a music financing platform, is moving from coworking space into a 2K SF office at the project at 2600 to 2650 NW Fifth Ave. The company was represented by Newmark’s Matt Himmelsbach.
An artificial intelligence company focused on electrical grid defects named Detect signed for more than 2K SF and was represented by Chris Sterling with Dwntwn Realty Advisors.
Blanca Commercial Real Estate’s Nicole Kaiser represented Big Move on all three deals.
***
CP Group landed more than 25K SF of new leases in its One Biscayne Tower in Downtown Miami, according to a release.
Alvarez and Marsal, a financial services and tax firm, is moving to the 38-story, 692K SF office tower at 2 S. Biscayne Blvd. in a deal for just more than 23K SF. Cushman & Wakefield’s Kevin Landers and David Dusek represented the firm.
Family law firm Filler Rodriguez LLP signed a new lease for more than 2K SF, relocating from Miami Beach. CBRE’s Keith Edelman represented the law firm.
Blanca CRE’s Juan Ruiz and Alex Marquez is the executive leasing partner for the tower.
PEOPLE
Michael Nisenbaum joined Colliers’ South Florida team as vice president, with a focus on land development and senior housing services in the company’s Boca Raton office, according to a release.
Nisenbaum joined the firm from Belmont Village Senior Living, where he was vice president of acquisition and investment. Over his three-decade career, he has worked on deals with more than 2,000 multifamily units, 3,000 single-family homes and 2.5M SF of commercial space.
***
Avison Young welcomed Julie Palmer-Nicholson as principal and director of real estate management services for the Florida market, based in the company’s Boca Raton office, according to a release.
Palmer-Nicholson joined from Chicago-based Vanderbilt Office Properties, where she managed Class-A assets. She also worked with CP Group when it was called Crocker Partners, Franklin Street and CBRE across Florida over her 30-year career.
UPDATE, SEPT. 16, 10:55 A.M. ET: This story has been updated to reflect the full sale price of the East Miami Brickell City Centre hotel.