Historic Florida Hotel Gets Construction Loan for Redevelopment
By Damian Ghigliotty March 13, 2015 10:05 am
reprints
Chicago-based BB&T Real Estate Funding provided a $40 million construction loan for the redevelopment of a 1939 Miami Beach hotel in a deal brokered by HFF, Mortgage Observer has first learned.
The three-year, senior loan, which was provided to a subsidiary of Daphne, Ala.-based Optimum Asset Management, will be used to take three existing Art Deco buildings—the historic Park Central Hotel, the Imperial Hotel and Heathcoat Apartments—along with a 0.15-acre development site and convert them into a modern hotel property. The completed structure will be known as the new Park Central Hotel.
“We are excited to be one of the major leading players in the ‘renaissance’ Ocean Drive is currently experiencing,” said Optimum Asset CEO Ricardo Tabet in a prepared statement sent to MO. “We believe our renovation of the iconic Park Central Hotel will not only promote the glory of its heyday, but will also bring back a sense of tropical class and elegance to the area.”
The 135-key new Park Central Hotel will feature 24 suites, three new restaurants totaling 8,100 square feet, a rooftop glass-bottom pool, a ground-floor pool with ocean views, and 1,380 square feet of meeting space.
The redeveloped hotel, due for completion in early 2017, will be located at 620-650 Ocean Drive, across from the area’s Lummus Park.
The HFF team led by Managing Director Jim Dockerty, Associate Director Scott Wadler, and Analyst Marc Roth worked on behalf of the borrower to secure the floating-rate construction loan, which closed on March 5.
“When completed, the Park Central Hotel will re-establish Ocean Drive as a luxury boutique hotel and fine-dining destination,” Mr. Dockerty said.
