Finvarb Group taps Thompson Hotels for its South Beach hotel project

Thompson Hotels is looking to make a return to South Florida with an eight-story hotel project proposed by the Finvarb Group near the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Denver-based Two Roads Hospitality and the Finvarb Group announced that they would launch the 150-room hotel at 1685 Washington Avenue under the Thompson Hotels brand. Thompson Hotels last had a presence in Miami Beach in 2016 with its Thompson Miami Beach hotel at 4041 Collins Avenue, which it sold to Hyatt for $229.4 million. It is now named the Confidante Miami Beach.

Finvarb Group’s proposal for its new project received a recommendation for approval from the Miami Beach Planning Board on Tuesday. The project is now seeking approval from the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board on July 10 — the last step in its approval process. The hotel will be built on the site of a former Citibank branch, which Finvarb bought for $19.2 million in August 2017.

The new Thompson Hotel, a boutique luxury hotel brand with locations in Chicago, New York, Seattle, Nashville, Toronto and Mexico, is projected to open in 2020, according to a release. The development will be designed by French architect Rudy Ricciotti.

The hotel’s proposal includes two restaurants and 122 parking spaces. It is adjacent to the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center and the newly renovated and expanded Miami Beach Convention Center.

Finvarb Group’s other Miami Beach projects include the under-construction Kimpton Hotel Palomar South Beach at 1750 Alton Road and the Marriott Residence Inn South Beach, which opened in 2016.