Chetrit flips Miami hotel Versailles to Argentine developer

From the South Florida site: Argentine developer Alan Faena, with longtime partner, billionaire investor Len Blavatnik, has acquired the historic Versailles hotel and condominium in Miami Beach for incorporation into the adjacent five-block Faena District, currently under construction, a Faena spokesperson told The Real Deal.

The Manhattan-based Chetrit Group sold the 289-unit hotel to Faena for an undisclosed amount on Tuesday after purchasing the pieces of the hotel it didn’t already own for a reported $50 million last week.

Chetrit had been individually acquiring units at the complex for more than two years, and received city approval late last year to renovate the Art Deco landmark and build a 10-story, 30-unit condo tower.

The hotel will become part of the Faena District, a five-block complex at Collins Avenue and 32nd Street that includes a Roman & Williams’ renovation of another Art Deco hotel, the Saxony; condo residences by Sir Norman Foster to be called Faena House; and an arts center with a component for artists-in-residence by the Pritzker prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas.

“The purchase of the Versailles represents the continued growth of Faena District Miami Beach and our plans to create an enclave of high design, culture, and hospitality, surrounded by nature in one of the most exciting cities in the U.S.,” Faena said in an email to TRD.  — Emily Schmall