Miami Beach’s Continental on Collins to become a Hampton Inn

Nine months after a joint venture bought out the aging Continental on Collins condo-hotel in Miami Beach, the team’s plans for the property have come to light.

Pebb Capital and Duncan Hillsley Capital, two investment firms based in Boca Raton, are converting the condo into a Hampton Inn hotel, complete with a full renovation and new retail space on the ground floor.

The Continental as it stood in July 2015

The two companies bought out the owners of all 102 condos and 18 commercial units at the building in October, totaling about $23.36 million, according to county records. Some of the units were transferred using a quit claim deed, so the full price is unknown.

Following the closing of those deals, Pebb and Duncan Hillsley set about completely gutting the building’s interiors in advance of their long-term plan: transforming the five-story building into a 90-key Hampton Inn hotel.

The companies also hired Robin Weiner and Jonathan Carter of the Comras Company to handle leasing for the building’s ground-floor commercial space totaling about 1,753 square feet.

Weiner told The Real Deal that the goal is to find “the right operator as an amenity for the Hampton brand.” That means a coffee shop or fast-casual restaurant, Weiner said. She’s already in advanced negotiations with several possible tenants.

Renderings for the project show the Continental’s aging brown facade would get a major overhaul with a segmented design helping break up the empty space between the hotel room windows. There’s also the possibility of leasing out 1,611 square feet of rooftop retail space, though Weiner said that “greatly depends on the operator.”

She said the project is shooting for an opening in the first quarter of 2017.

Pebb Capital was founded by the Rosenberg family, and the firm is closely related to the Pebb Enterprises real estate company that’s an active member of South Florida’s commercial real estate community. Pebb Enterprises was struck with tragedy last year when executives from the firm were killed in an Ohio plane crash while scouting properties to purchase.

Duncan Hillsley, the company’s partner for this project, is a self-described opportunistic real estate investment firm that has its offices in the same building where both Pebb branches are located. One of the firm’s most notable deals included buying out the Vizcayne condo development in downtown Miami along with Rockwood Capital and Fortune Capital Management Services.

More recently, Pebb and Duncan Hillsley partnered to purchase the Downtown Dadeland retail center.