Hotel Urbano under New Ownership, HFF Represents Seller

By Balazs Szekely, Associate Editor

Hotel Urbano at Brickell, a 65-key boutique hotel located on historic Brickell Avenue in Miami, Florida changed hands recently, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler announced. The hotel was offered with valuable development rights allowing for a 64-room (12,699 square feet) expansion on the site.

HFF marketed the hotel on behalf of Rodblu Investment Fund 1 and an affiliate of The Carlyle Group, the investment sales team representing the sellers being led by director Max Comess, senior managing director Daniel C. Peek and associate directors Cyrus Vazifdar and Scott Wadler. Baywood Hotels, a Washington, DC-based privately owned hotel management company purchased the property free and clear of debt. According to HFF’s written announcement, the buyer will assume property management.

Built in 1961, the boutique hotel is situated on an expansive parcel at 2500 Brickell Avenue, in the “Millionaires’ Row” area. The site also has frontage on South Miami Avenue. It features an outdoor resort pool, the Bistro Urbano restaurant and bar as well as three meeting spaces with a total usable surface of 1,650 square feet. The pool is surrounded by cabanas that offer a business center, a fitness facility and flat-screen televisions. The property has been completely redeveloped in 2010.

HFF Director Max Comess said the opportunity to acquire Hotel Urbano with the additional urban development rights raised the attention of several investors from the U.S., Latin America and Asia.

“The high physical quality of this hotel combined with a flexible expansion opportunity appealed to Baywood, who has emerged as one of the most active hotel developers in Miami today,” he added.

Photo credits: Hotel Urbano