Atlanta firm picks up Element Miami hotel near airport

Hurricane Irma delayed the closing by about two weeks

Element Miami International Airport and Patrick O'Neil, president of Peachtree Hospitality Management
Element Miami International Airport and Patrick O'Neil, president of Peachtree Hospitality Management

Norwich Partners just sold the Element Miami International Airport hotel to Peachtree Hotel Group.

The five-story, 209-key hotel at 3525 Northwest 25th Street sold for $22 million, Norwich managing member David Leatherwood told The Real Deal. HFF’s Alexandra Lalos, Denny Meikleham and Alan Suzuki brokered the sale. The brokerage declined to provide a closing price for the extended-stay hotel.

The sale is the first for an airport-area hotel in about a year, according to Lalos. HFF received interest from more than 120 firms, including hotel operators, local investors, real estate investment trusts and hotel companies out of New York, Lalos said.

The $22 million deal breaks down to about $105,300 per suite. Hurricane Irma caused minor damage to the landscaping, delaying the closing by about two weeks, Meikleham said. It hit the market about five months ago.

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Norwich paid $3.6 million for the 5.38-acre site in 2008 and completed the hotel in 2012. The suites feature kitchens and workspaces, and the property includes a fitness center, pool, business center and outdoor courtyard. It’s about two miles away from Miami International Airport. It will remain an Element hotel, according to HFF. The Starwood brand is now owned by Marriott International.

The Norwich fund that sold the hotel was ending this year, Leatherwood said. The company recently completed an AC Hotel at Aventura ParkSquare and will deliver a nearby Aloft in the first quarter of 2018.

Atlanta-based Peachtree owns hotels in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Indiana and other states. Patrick O’Neil, president of the hospitality management arm, could not immediately be reached for comment.