Blackstone has paid nearly $300 million for the East Miami hotel in Brickell, according to sources familiar with the transaction. The 352-key hotel is located at 788 Brickell Plaza and is part of the larger Brickell City Centre complex. The purchase was made by funds affiliated with Blackstone, a New York-based alternative asset management firm.
The sellers, Trinity Investments from Honolulu and Certares from New York, announced the sale last week but did not disclose the price. Deeds made public on Friday showed a recorded real estate price of $147.8 million, which does not include additional assets typically involved in hotel transactions. Sources stated that the actual sale price is higher due to the inclusion of furniture and fixtures.
East Miami sits within Brickell City Centre, a mixed-use development completed by Swire Properties in 2016. The complex covers about five city blocks and features retail space, residential condos, and office buildings. The hotel itself includes rooftop venue Sugar and 89 serviced apartments.
Trinity and Certares had acquired the property from Swire in 2021 for $174 million, with that deal’s deed reflecting a price of $120.3 million.
Blackstone manages approximately $1.2 trillion in assets as of the end of the second quarter this year, according to its website. The company has been active in South Florida recently, including selling a development site in Opa-locka for $105.7 million this summer—bringing its total sales in South Florida since November to over $1 billion (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/07/01/blackstone-link-logistics-sell-opa-locka-site-for-106m/). In April, Blackstone bought an apartment complex in Miami Lakes for $115.9 million (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/04/16/truamerica-sells-miami-lakes-apartments-to-blackstone-for-116m/) and provided a $300 million loan for renovations at Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/05/23/gencom-fortune-get-300m-loan-for-ritz-carlton-key-biscayne-grand-bay-club-renovation/).
Brickell continues to be a focal point for real estate activity in South Florida, attracting new businesses and residential developments to the region.
The sale of East Miami follows other major transactions at Brickell City Centre this year. In June, Swire sold most of its stake in the retail and parking section to Simon Property Group for $512 million (https://therealdeal.com/national/2024/06/19/simon-property-group-takes-majority-stake-in-brickell-city-centre-retail-parking-for-512m/) and also sold another development site to Melo Group for $200 million after canceling plans for an office tower (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/05/14/melo-group-pays-200m-for-brickell-city-centre-supertall-site-plans-resi-towers-office-hotel-retail-and-more). Last month, Kerzner International purchased land at Brickell City Centre intended for new condos and hotel units.
