MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST) has purchased 1 Hotel South Beach, a 429-room hotel and resort in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood.
A partnership between Starwood Capital Group and LeFrak sold the property for $610 million, or a little over $1.4 million per room. Hodges Ward Elliot represented Starwood Capital and LeFrak in the sale.
The property features 600 linear feet of ocean frontage and has direct beach access, as well as four pools with elevated decks that provide ocean views. SH Hotels & Resorts, an affiliate of Starwood Capital, will continue to operate and manage the 1.1 million-square-foot property as 1 Hotel South Beach.
“We are excited about the opportunity to acquire one of the absolute best luxury hotels in the country and partner with SH Hotels & Resorts as our operator,” says James Risoleo, president and CEO of HST. “1 Hotels is redefining the luxury hotel industry and we could not be more proud to own its flagship hotel. We look forward to being a big part of the brand’s future growth.”
Starwood Capital acquired the 1970s-era beachfront hotel in 2012 and executed a $300 million overhaul, including adding 155 condominiums and updating the property’s pools, rooftop bar and other common areas.
The LEED Silver-certified property now features a 14,000-square-foot gym and a 5,500-square-foot Bamford Haybarn Spa, the first in the United States. Other amenities include 160,000 square feet of meeting space, eight food and beverage outlets and 23,000 square feet of retail space, which is leased to tenants such as SoulCycle and Everything But Water.
The property opened in 2015 as the very first 1 Hotel, Starwood’s luxury hotel brand. Other 1 Hotel properties are located near Central Park in Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, with new hotels slated to open in West Hollywood, Silicon Valley, China and Cabo San Lucas.
Host Hotels & Resorts is a Bethesda, Md.-based hospitality REIT. The company owns 88 properties in the United States and five internationally totaling 52,000 rooms. HST’s stock price closed on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at $18.96 per share, down from $19.51 a year ago.
Headquartered in Miami Beach, Starwood Capital Group is a private investment firm with about 4,000 employees in five countries. The company manages more than $60 billion in assets.
LeFrak is a family-owned real estate investment and development firm based in New York. The company also owns assets in other industries, including securities, energy and private businesses.
— John Nelson