Israel-based ASRR Capital, controlled by Alex Sapir and Rotem Rosen, and Istanbul-based Suzer Group have announced a partnership with prominent Turkish businesswoman Ozlem Onal to create a high-end luxury hotel at the oceanfront building they purchased in Surfside last week, The Real Deal has learned.
ASRR and Suzer closed the off-market deal for 8955 Collins Avenue, a nearly one-acre property next to the Surf Club Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, as well as a property on the west side of Collins Avenue on Friday for $40 million, Rosen told TRD. The tenants in the existing condo building on the oceanfront property have all vacated. A full demolition is planned for September, and a groundbreaking is planned for December.
Onal’s family owns the Turkish luxury hotel chain Dedeman Hotels & Resorts, which operates 16 hotels in Turkey, Russia and Kazakhstan, according to its website.
Plans for the site include a 145,000-square-foot, 80-room high-end hotel, led by Onal, and 10 ultra-luxury condos topping the new building, which will also feature a restaurant and beach club. On the other side of Collins Avenue, the investors plan to put a parking lot, and on top of that, a tennis court, Rosen has previously said.
Alex Sapir, ASRR chairman, said the deal marks ASRR’s first investment in Miami.
“After 15 years of going back and forth between Miami and New York, it’s incredible to see the demand for luxury now. If you look at where all luxury is or where it’s headed, it’s in Surfside,” Sapir told TRD.
From 87th Street to 94th Street, “you have a line of very high-end hotels. That’s something that’s very, very new,” Rosen added, citing such luxury developments under construction as the Renzo Piano-designed Biltmore Terrace project, at 8701 Collins Avenue; the Surf Club Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences at 9011 Collins Avenue, which was designed by Richard Meier and is currently under construction; and the Fendi Château Residences at 9365 Collins Avenue.
In Manhattan, the Sapir Organization owns 6.5 million square feet of real estate, including the New York headquarters for Coca Cola, Sony, Credit Suisse, William Morris and MTA. ASRR Capital and the founder of Buddha Bar, Gerard Guez, recently bought the Mondrian SoHo, now NoMo Soho. Sapir Organization also owns 260 Madison Avenue and 261 Madison Avenue.
The Suzer Group, which is involved in real estate, banking and energy in Turkey, and owns the Ritz-Carlton in Istanbul, made its first U.S. purchase in New York two months ago. In a 50/50 partnership with ASSR Capital, the group bought 218 Madison Avenue, where they plan a high-end condo project designed by BKSK.