Ari Pearl lands $100M loan to build first phase of SLS project in Hallandale Beach

Developers will use the loan to build 250 SLS-branded luxury apartments

Rendering of SLS Resort Residence & Marina Hallandale Beach, Ari Pearl, Sam Nazarian and Faisal Ashraf
Rendering of SLS Resort Residence & Marina Hallandale Beach, Ari Pearl, Sam Nazarian and Faisal Ashraf 

Developer Ari Pearl closed on a $100 million loan to develop the first phase of a major mixed-use project in Hallandale Beach, The Real Deal has learned.

Pearl’s PPG Development and Michael Herman’s Premium Capital secured the financing from the Related Cos.’ Related Fund Management, said Faisal Ashraf, managing partner of Lotus Capital Partners. Lotus arranged the financing, which has a five-year term. Construction will begin soon, he said.

The financing will be used to build the 250-unit branded luxury apartment component of SLS Resort Residence & Marina Hallandale Beach, a $220 million development planned for the 127-acre Diplomat Golf & Tennis Club site at 501 Diplomat Parkway. Kobi Karp is the architect.

In November, the developers unveiled the project, which will also include 290 hotel rooms with 50 hotel-condo units, a Katsuya restaurant and S Bar, a mixology lounge and an in-house restaurant. It will also feature an 18-hole championship golf course with 8 acres of lakes, a 10-court tennis complex and a 48-slip marina. Professional golfer Greg Norman is designing the course.

Sam Nazarian’s SBE will manage the hotel. Last year, AccorHotels closed on a 50 percent stake in SBE for $125 million.

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The apartments will be in a 26-story tower that’s expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a release.

Ashraf said he is working on arranging financing for the next phase of the Hallandale Beach project. His firm recently arranged a $100 million acquisition loan for Michael Shvo’s hotel purchases in South Beach, and has also worked on major financing deals in Boca Raton and Miami since it expanded to South Florida two years ago.

Pearl’s Maltese Diplomat Owner LLC paid $43.25 million for the Hallandale Beach property in May 2018. The seller was a partnership led by Louis Birdman, which planned a $450 million redevelopment of the golf club.

Hallandale Beach is the first Broward city north of Miami-Dade, sandwiched between Hollywood and Sunny Isles Beach.

Developers, including homebuilders like Lennar Corp. and Toll Brothers, are increasingly buying up golf courses around the country as the supply of land and golf’s popularity both continue to shrink.