Blackstone has paid nearly $300 million for the East Miami hotel located in Brickell, according to information obtained by The Real Deal. The 352-room hotel was purchased by funds connected to Blackstone from Trinity Investments, based in Honolulu, and Certares, based in New York. While the sellers had announced the transaction last week without disclosing the amount, sources familiar with the deal have now confirmed the purchase price.
The transaction closed last week and public records made available on Friday show that deeds recorded a sale price of $147.8 million. However, these records only reflect the value of the real estate and do not include other assets that are typically part of hotel sales. The total purchase price approaches $300 million when accounting for additional assets such as furniture and fixtures.
East Miami is situated within Brickell City Centre, a mixed-use development completed by Swire Properties in 2016. The complex covers about five city blocks and includes approximately 500,000 square feet of retail space, two condominium towers (Reach and Rise), and two office buildings.
The hotel features a rooftop venue called Sugar and offers 89 serviced apartments.
Trinity Investments and Certares acquired East Miami from Swire Properties in 2021 for $174 million. At that time, deeds recorded a price of $120.3 million.
Blackstone is led by CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman and reported managing about $1.2 trillion in assets at the end of this year’s second quarter.
In recent months, Blackstone has been active in South Florida’s property market. This summer, together with Link Logistics, it sold a 43.7-acre site intended for offices and warehouses in Opa-locka for $105.7 million. This brought its total sales in South Florida since November to more than $1 billion (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/07/17/blackstone-link-logistics-sell-opa-locka-dev-site-for-106m/).
Other transactions include paying $115.9 million for Solea at Miami Lakes apartment complex earlier this year, as well as providing a $300 million loan to finance renovations at Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne and Grand Bay Club (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/05/09/gencom-fortune-score-300m-loan-for-ritz-carlton-key-biscayne-renovation/).
Brickell continues to be a focal point for real estate activity in South Florida as new firms move into the region alongside ongoing condo developments.
The sale of East Miami marks another significant transaction involving portions of Brickell City Centre this year. In June, Swire sold its majority stake in the retail and parking areas of the complex to Simon Property Group for $512 million (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/06/25/swire-sells-brickell-city-centre-retail-parking-stake-to-simon-for-512m/) . Earlier in May, after canceling plans for an office tower on a nearby site within Brickell City Centre, Swire sold that parcel to Melo Group for $200 million (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/05/16/swire-sells-brickell-city-centre-dev-site-to-melo-group-for-200m/) .
Additionally, Kerzner International recently paid $45 million for almost one acre at Brickell City Centre where it plans future residential and hospitality development (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/08/02/dubais-kerzner-pays-45m-for-brickell-city-centre-dev-site-plans-resi-hotel-tower/) .
