Jeffrey Soffer scores $1.2B refi of Fontainebleau Miami Beach

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan provided the fixed-rate loan

Jeffrey Soffer and Fontainebleau Miami Beach
Jeffrey Soffer and Fontainebleau Miami Beach

Jeffrey Soffer closed on a $1.175 billion refinancing of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, marking the latest restructuring of debt for the beachfront resort.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan provided the fixed-rate loan for the nearly 1,600-key hotel at 4441 Collins Avenue, according to a press release from Newmark Knight Frank. The Commercial Observer first reported the refinancing.

Newmark Knight Frank’s Dustin Stolly and Jordan Roeschlaub represented the hotel owner, Soffer’s Fontainebleau Development.

The Soffer family-led Turnberry Associates paid $325 million for the Fontainebleau Miami Beach in 2005 and paid another $15 million for a nearby lot where an expansion is planned. Turnberry then spent $650 million on gutting and renovating the 1954 historic hotel, which ranks as the largest hotel in Miami-Dade County.

Designed by architect Morris Lapidus, the Fontainebleau sits on more than 15 acres of land with 11 pools, a 40,000-square-foot spa, and 12 food and beverage venues. The hotel is made up of four towers: the Chateau and Versailles buildings with 846 hotel rooms and the Tresor and Sorrento buildings with 748 condo-hotel units.

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In March, Soffer split from Turnberry to form Fontainebleau Development after 25 years of working alongside his sister and company co-CEO Jackie Soffer. Jeffrey Soffer’s new firm is the sole owner of the Fontainebleau, JW Marriott Turnberry Miami, Turnberry Isle Marina, Turnberry Ocean Club and The Big Easy Casino in Hallandale Beach.

The Soffers have refinanced the Fontainebleau property in the past. In December 2013, Turnberry completed a $535 million refinancing led by JP Morgan. That year, the Soffers also regained full control of the hotel after they had previously sold a 50 percent interest to Dubai World.

In June, Jeffrey Soffer received $91 million in financing for the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa from the Bank of China, boosting its loan to $340 million for the Aventura resort.

Soffer is also reportedly in talks to buy the 1,000-room Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood from Brookfield Asset Management’s Thayer Lodging Group. The resort hit the market earlier this year and is expected to trade for up to $1 billion, or $1 million a key.