Oceanfront Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne Offered for Sale by Brookfield

According to sources familiar with the matter, Brookfield Properties is reportedly selling the oceanfront Ritz-Carlton resort in Key Biscayne. The 302-room, 275,000-square-foot property, located at 455 Grand Bay Drive, is being marketed by Brookfield in collaboration with JLL. Last year, Brookfield acquired a two-thirds stake in the property by acquiring Watermark Lodging Trust for $3.8 million. Gencom, the Miami-based hotel investment firm led by Karim Alibhai, owns one-third of the property.

Records indicate that Brookfield secured a $210 million refinancing for the resort in late July, with Citibank leading the administrative agent role for a consortium of lenders. The loan amount was increased from $190 million, and MetLife initially provided the mortgage in 2016.

Despite inquiries, neither Brookfield nor Watermark has responded to requests for comments, while JLL and Gencom have declined to provide statements.

Built in 2001 on a 12-acre property boasting 1,200 feet of beachfront, the 13-story Ritz-Carlton features amenities such as pools, a tennis center, meeting spaces, and luxury condos branded under the Ritz-Carlton name.

Brookfield, which owns approximately 30 properties in South Florida, including the Mayfair Hotel & Spa in Coconut Grove, the Shops at Merrick Park, and a stake in the Miami Design District, has been active in the region.

In 2015, Gencom sold the majority interest in the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne for $325 million to Carey Watermark Investors. Two years later, Gencom divested the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove to Hersha Hospitality Trust for $36 million, approximately $313,000 per room.

Hotel investment sales have been relatively scarce, driven by challenges such as high financing and insurance costs. Notable transactions include Trinity Investments and Credit Suisse’s $835 million purchase of the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood earlier this year and Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s $232 million sale of the Confidante Miami Beach to Sunstone Hotel Investors the previous year. In 2019, Host Hotels acquired 1 Hotel South Beach for $610 million, setting a new per-room record for Miami-Dade hotel sales at $1.42 million per key. The deal was orchestrated by Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group and LeFrak, who had owned the luxury oceanfront hotel for over three years.