The developer of Paseo de la Riviera in Coral Gables opened the hotel component last week, completing the mixed-use project that has been in the works for about five years.
Nolan Reynolds International, led by CEO and managing partner Brent Reynolds, decided to open ahead of the University of Miami’s fall semester that begins next week. The developer originally planned to open the hotel in the spring.
The project, at 1350 South Dixie Highway, includes Residences at Thesis, a luxury 204-unit apartment tower, the 245-room Thesis Hotel, and two restaurants by chef Niven Patel. Mamey, one of the restaurants, recently opened with outdoor dining and takeout only. (Indoor dining in restaurants is not currently allowed by Miami-Dade County.) Orno, Patel’s other restaurant at the project, will open early next year.
Reynolds said the project’s total cost is more than $225 million, a figure that includes the acquisition of the land.
The hotel is more than 50 percent occupied through the weekend, Reynolds said, thanks in part to the university’s reopening. The average daily rate is about $220. The hotel plans to stay open, with a limited number of rooms, as many hotels in South Florida remain closed due to the pandemic’s effect on tourism.
“The consumer wants the confidence that the hotel is open,” he said. “We’re seeing same-day reservations. You really can’t garner that business unless you’re open.”
Reynolds said the apartment component is also leasing throughout the pandemic. Monthly rents start at $1,889 for studios, $2,277 for one-bedrooms, $3,226 for two-bedrooms, and $4,317 for three-bedrooms. The building is 63 percent leased, and renters have moved into 92 apartments so far, he said.
Paseo de la Riviera was first proposed in 2015 on the site of a former Holiday Inn hotel. The developer, then known as NP International, paid $44 million for the site in the spring of 2016.
Nolan Reynolds brought on Dr. Franklyn Prendergast to its advisory board to help create health and safety procedures at all of its properties, including incorporating ionization air filtration systems in the elevators and seals for the hotel rooms and apartments.
Paseo de la Riviera, designed by Jorge Hernandez Architects and Gensler, is one of a handful of large mixed-use projects along U.S. 1 in Coral Gables and Coconut Grove in the pipeline. Nolan Reynolds is also building Gables Station, which will have a Life Time Fitness and Life Time-branded apartments. The first phase is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Write to Katherine Kallergis at kk@therealdeal.com