Joint Venture Buys Majority Stake in Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — A joint venture between Carey Watermark Investors Inc. and Gencom Group has purchased a majority interest in the Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, an upscale hotel in Fort Lauderdale. The property comprises 166 hotel rooms, 34 third-party owned condominium hotel units and 28 third-party owned residential units. The hotel features 25,000 square feet of meeting and function space, an 8,500-square-foot spa, outdoor infinity pool, 29,000-square-foot pool deck, fitness center, business center and four managed food and beverage outlets. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. will continue to operate the hotel. According to the South Florida Business Journal, the hotel sold for $45 million. Hodges Ward Elliott represented the seller, RCFL Investor LLC, an affiliate of Gencom. The new ownership is planning a $9 million renovation to the hotel’s lobby, spa and main restaurant that should wrap up in the fourth quarter of this year. The transaction is the third joint venture purchase between Carey Watermark and Gencom. The other two transactions include Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia and Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne Miami. Together, the three transactions represent a total investment of more than $500 million.