Blue Road is buying the Crest Hotel Suites in South Beach for $24 million, as it boosts its collection of boutique properties, The Real Deal has learned.
The deal is expected to close this week, Blue Road principals Jorge Savloff and Marcelo Tenenbaum told TRD.
The Crest, at 1670 James Avenue in Miami Beach, has two adjoining buildings with a total of 69 units, including suites and hotel rooms. The Art Deco property also has a pool and restaurant called Café de Crest with a liquor license, Tenenbaum said. The price breaks down to $347,826 per unit.
Miami-Dade property records show the hotel was built in 1941, and the current owners, Crest Group Ltd., last purchased it for $1.6 million in 1997. Records show Crest Group Ltd. is led by Fidel Perez of Coral Gables-based Perez & Perez Architects Planners.
Once the sale is completed, the new owners plan to renovate the rooms with new decor and furniture while the hotel will remain open, Tenenbaum said. Blue Road is also finalizing an agreement with an undisclosed “very experienced” local operator for the restaurant, he said.
The Crest is located back-to-back with Blue Road’s Greenview Hotel at 1671 Washington Avenue, which allows for synergies between the two properties that will together total about 120 units, Savloff said. The two hotels will continue to maintain their own identities and names, but will combine food and beverage, guest services and back office operations, the principals said.
With the purchase, Blue Road’s hotel collection will total 10 properties. In addition to the Greenview, the company also owns and operates such boutique hotels as the Berkeley, Aqua, Ocean Reef Suites, Riviere Hotel, Waldorf and Lorraine Hotel in Miami Beach.
“We try to create and put some character in each of our properties, to give something different to people and the type of tourist coming to Miami,” Savloff said. “We have people from Europe now and also Latin America and from the U.S.”
Savloff and Tenenbaum are both natives of Argentina, whose families have worked together as partners for decades. The two moved to Miami (Savloff 35 years ago, Tenenbaum, 22 years ago) and formed Blue Road about 20 years ago, they said. They are currently developing the Highlands, a condo project in North Miami Beach and the Palms in Bay Harbor Islands. Previous projects include Blue Bay Tower in North Bay Village, and the Club in Bay Harbor Islands.