Joe Lubeck expanded his personal portfolio by dropping $40 million for a Palm Beach Gardens hotel and 4 adjacent acres.
Lubeck, CEO of Tampa-based American Landmark Apartments, and a group of local partners acquired the Embassy Suites by Hilton Palm Beach Gardens, a 160-key property at 4350 PGA Boulevard, according to a news release. Lubeck paid $34 million for the hotel and $6 million for the adjacent acreage, a spokesperson said.
The hotel sale amounts to $212,500 per key, and the land sale amounts to $1.5 million per acre.
The seller, Dallas-based Ashford Hospitality Trust, led by Monty Bennett, completed the 10-story building on a 3.2-acre site in 1990, records show. The hotel includes 8,500 square feet of meeting and event space and features a signature atrium-style entrance.
Ashford recently experienced trouble with its hotel portfolio. In August, loans for 18 properties were placed in special servicing.
Lubeck said the acquisition reflects a strategic expansion beyond his core multifamily business. The Embassy Suites property is an “ideal fit” for his personal portfolio and family office holdings, he said.
Lubeck’s group also plans to reopen the hotel’s long-shuttered restaurant later this year, introducing a Mediterranean-style concept, the release states. The reactivation is expected to boost the property’s food and beverage revenues while complementing ongoing upgrades to common spaces.
Lubeck is no stranger to large-scale real estate ventures in South Florida.
Through Electra America, an affiliate of American Landmark, he is partnering with Aventura-based BH Group to redevelop the 80-acre Southland Mall property in Cutler Bay into a $1 billion mixed-use community dubbed Southplace City Center. The project, approved in 2022, calls for up to 4,400 residential units, along with retail, office, and hospitality components designed to anchor the suburb’s economic revitalization.
American Landmark ranks among Florida’s largest apartment owners and operators with a portfolio exceeding 34,000 units across the Southeast. Lubeck’s latest purchase signals his growing focus on personal, long-term real estate investments in Palm Beach County.