Witkoff, Access Real Estate Refi Florida Resort With $100M From Apollo

Witkoff Group and Access Real Estate obtained $100 million from Apollo Global Management to refinance a 200-acre luxury golf resort in West Palm Beach, Fla., Commercial Observer can first report.

The property includes the 150-room Belgrove Resort & Spa hotel and the Dutchman’s Pipe Golf Club, which includes an 18-hole, 7,287-yard course designed by sports legend Jack Nicklaus. The complex is sandwiched between Lake Mangonia and Interstate 95 at 1900 Banyan Club Road.

“This successful financing secured during these challenging capital markets reflects a strong and experienced sponsorship and growing demand for institutional real estate in West Palm Beach,” Jonah Sonnenborn, head of Access Real Estate, said in a statement. 

The two companies also plan to add a condo complex to the property. Last month, the pair launched sales for a 22-unit project.

Last year, the joint venture purchased the nearly finished complex, formerly called Banyan Cay Resort, for an undisclosed amount, though it secured a $75 million loan from the seller, Calmwater Capital. 

In 2023, the investment firm had won a $94 million foreclosure suit, while the hotel was still under construction. The former developer, Domenic Gatto Jr., who had purchased the land for $26 million in 2015, completed the golf course two years later.

Witkoff Group, the firm of President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and Access Real Estate, the investment vehicle of billionaire Len Blavatnik, have previously partnered together. In New York, they purchased HFZ Capital Group’s One High Line project for about $900 million out of foreclosure three years ago.

Julia Echikson can be reached jechikson@commercialobserver.com.