Key International buys development site in Fort Lauderdale Beach: $10M

Miami-based Key International has closed on a Fort Lauderdale Beach assemblage that OTO Development had under contract last year. 

Dan Teixeira

Key International paid a combined $9.56 million for the three parcels at 3017, 3021 and 3029 Alhambra Street, next to the popular Casablanca Cafe, Douglas Elliman’s Dan Teixeira told The Real Deal.

OTO was under contract in October to buy the 31,250-square-foot assemblage, which comes out to 0.7 acres.

“At the end of the day, OTO decided not to close and they did a deal with Key International,” Teixeira said. OTO is not part of the new buying entity.

The city of Fort Lauderdale approved a 10-story, 175-key hotel for the site in November, which was slated to become an AC Hotel by Marriott. Teixeira told TRD he didn’t know if Key International would be moving forward with those plans. The real estate investment and development firm recently completed the Nobu Hotel within the Eden Roc, and is currently co-developing the Harbour in North Miami Beach with 13th Floor Investments, among other projects.

Key International did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Teixeira was the listing agent on the property at 3029 Alhambra Street, a 12,500-square-foot plot originally planned as a second Vintro Hotel location. When the city rejected plans for the development site because it was too small, Teixeira approached adjacent owners to sell the properties as an assemblage.

The low-rise apartment building at 3017 Alhambra Street,Villa Torino, and the low-rise hotel called the Alhambra Beach Resort at 3021 Alhambra Street are part of the group.

Vintro owner Enrique Colmenares paid $1.8 million for the plot in 2012.

The previous owners of the Alhambra Beach Resort, TC Ventures LLC, paid $1.65 million for the property in 2004. And at Villa Torino, the last recorded sale in 2002 was for $635,000 to the James P. Ostryniec Revocable Trust. Combined, the three properties last sold for $4.09 million.

Fort Lauderdale Beach is seeing a number of new luxury residential and hotel projects that aim to transform the area. More than 700 condos are in the pipeline there, with new construction valued at more than $1.5 billion.