Wheelock pays $106M for The Ben hotel near downtown West Palm Beach

Concord will continue to manage 208-key hotel

Tim Hodes, Principal, Head of Hotel Acquisitions, Wheelock Street Capital; The Ben West Palm Beach at 251 North Narcissus Avenue (Wheelock Street Capital; The Ben West Palm Beach)
Tim Hodes, Principal, Head of Hotel Acquisitions, Wheelock Street Capital; The Ben West Palm Beach at 251 North Narcissus Avenue (Wheelock Street Capital; The Ben West Palm Beach)

UPDATED, Oct. 11, 5:30 p.m.: Wheelock Street Capital paid $106.4 million for The Ben West Palm Beach, a new hotel near the city’s downtown, marking one of the largest hospitality investment sales in South Florida since the pandemic began.

Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company, a hotel management, ownership and development company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, sold the 208-key hotel at 251 North Narcissus Avenue for more than $511,000 per key.

The property likely traded for much more, as the real estate transaction does not often include the furniture, fixtures and equipment.

Wheelock financed the deal with a $101.1 million loan from Wells Fargo.

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Property records show Concord Sierra WPB Hotel sold the half-acre property to WS BPB Owner LLC. The hotel opened last year and is an Autograph property, under the Marriott brand. Miami-based Mayan Properties was a partner in the hotel development.

It is part of a 435,000-square-foot mixed-use Flagler Banyan Square development with residential, dining and retail that sits on the former site of West Palm Beach’s city hall. PGIM Real Estate owns the apartment tower next door, records show.

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The Ben includes a full-service restaurant, 7,800 square feet of event space, a rooftop ballroom and pool, and an amenity deck. Concord will continue to manage the hotel, according to a release.

Paul Weimar and Ron Danko of CBRE represented the seller. Attorney Michael Gallinar of Adams Gallinar represented the seller.

Wheelock also invested in the 153,000-square-foot office development next to the Ben, at 301 Clematis Street and 300 Banyan Boulevard.

The office market in West Palm Beach has attracted big investors this year, as a number of financial firms continue to sign leases.

Hotel sales in South Florida have started to pick up following a rocky 2020.

In the largest investment sale of the year, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust paid $270 million in June for the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort in Broward County.