JV Acquires Continental Bayside Hotel for $13.5M, Plans Full Renovation

by Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

The Continental Bayside Hotel is heading toward a full renovation after its recent change of owners; Weston, Fla.-based InSite Group and an affiliate of the Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle Group formed a joint venture for the purchase of the 243-room property at 146 Biscayne Boulevard. According to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, the real estate investment firm that arranged the deal, the hotel sold for $13.5 million.

Built in 1926, the Continental Bayside Hotel underwent a second construction phase in the 1950s and currently includes a fitness center, meeting space and a vacant restaurant and lobby bar on top of the 243 rooms; the InSite Group is planning a full renovation and re-branding of the property, starting early 2012. The renovation plans include upgrades to guestrooms, public spaces and the hotel’s façade, while a new food and beverage concept will re-energize the lobby and the hotel. The Continental Bayside will continue to operate during the phased renovation, with a minimal impact on guests and the re-launching being planned for the end of 2012.

Located on Biscayne Boulevard across from the Port of Miami, Bayside Shops and Restaurants and the American Airlines Arena, the hotel is surrounded by over 16 million square feet of office space, state and federal court houses, and multiple world-class cultural and arts venues—topped by the future mega developments Brickell CitiCentre and Resorts World Miami.

InSite has shown interest in Miami several times in the past year, with the purchase of the Continental Oceanfront South Beach Hotel for $61 million—to be rebranded as B South Beach—and the opening of B Ocean Front Lauderdale in January. The Carlyle Group has also been active in the South Florida market, purchasing the Blue Moon and the Winterhaven Hotel in South Beach in June.