George Nediyakalayil, a petroleum distributor and real estate investor from Chicago, paid $29 million for a 190-room hotel near Miami International Airport.
An entity managed by Nediyakalayil acquired Even Hotel Miami – Airport at 3499 Northwest 25th Street, records and Vizzda show. The deal breaks down to about $153,000 per room. Nediyakalayil financed the purchase with an $18.6 million loan from State Bank of Texas.
The seller, an affiliate of Aventura-based Epelboim Development Group, paid $3.8 million for the 1.9-acre property in 2015, records show. Three years later, Epelboim completed the seven-story building with a $20 million construction loan and funds from Latin American investors participating in the EB-5 visa program.
Nediyakalayil is CEO of Chicago-based Gas Depot Oil Co., a gas station operator and petroleum distributor in the Midwest, according to the firm’s website. Nediyakalayil also developed a 99-room Hyatt Place hotel in Chicago that was completed in 2019.
A small surge of investors have checked into South Florida hotel deals recently. This week, Indianapolis-based Midwest Hospitality Group, or MHG Hotels, paid $20.5 million for a Courtyard by Marriott in West Palm Beach. The seller, Ohio-based Regal Hospitality netted a $5.2 million gain in price after purchasing the 103-room hotel in July.
Also this month, Thrive Hospitality Group and Mid America Lodging Group purchased a Plantation hotel for $14.5 million. The Michigan-based firms, led by members of the same family, added the 104-room La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Plantation to their South Florida portfolio.
In November, a joint venture picked up a Miami Beach hotel completed in 1950. Delray Beach-based Kolter Group’s hospitality division and Aventura-based BH Group paid $24 million for the Crystal Suites Miami Oceanfront Hotel in the city’s North Beach neighborhood.
Also last month, Winter Park, Florida-based Holidays Network Group acquired a Miami Beach redevelopment site that has approvals for a 107-room hotel. Holidays Network paid $35.3 million.