Homewood Suites is opening its Brickell area location in July, The Real Deal has learned.
Bill Duncan, global head of Homewood and Home2 Suites by Hilton, said the Brickell property, at 1750 Southwest First Avenue, will be a “milestone opening” because of its location in Miami and proximity to Latin America. Developments such as Brickell City Centre are also a plus, he said.
Bill Duncan, global head of Homewood and Home2 Suites
“We want to do more there. We like the environment,” Duncan told TRD. “The community supports our hotels and we see it as an important location to gain exposure in Miami.”
The eight-story Homewood Suites in Brickell will have 671 square feet of meeting space, a business center, gym, elevated swimming pool, 59 studio rooms and 43 suites with home offices and living rooms, which the extended stay brand is known for.
Baywood Hotels owns and will manage the 111,687-square-foot hotel.
Baywood paid $2.1 million for the 15,000-square-foot site in September 2012, through an LLC, according to Miami-Dade property records. Amit N. Patel and Chirag B. Desai of Baywood, listed on the owner’s corporate filings, also acquired a 1-acre site farther north in Brickell for $15.5 million in April. Walgreen Co., which originally had plans for an ultra-modern Walgreens store there, was the seller.
Duncan said the company adapts to urban environments and expects that about six of the 30 Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites in the pipeline will be in walkable urban cities. The Brickell hotel will offer valet parking only.
“The upscale extended stay hotel is really growing in popularity in urban markets,” Duncan told TRD. When open, the hotel will be one of two extended stays in Brickell: an Extended Stay Miami-Brickell-Port of Miami is located south of the Homewood at 298 Southwest 15th Road.
Homewood Suites has properties at the Hilton Miami Airport/Blue Lagoon, Hilton Miami Airport West, Fort Lauderdale Airport Cruise Port, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens.