Brookfield Asset Management is in talks to sell its 1,000-room resort in Hollywood to developer Jeffrey Soffer in a deal that would value the property at under $1 billion.
Brookfield subsidiary Thayer Lodging Group owns the Diplomat Beach Resort at 3555 South Ocean Drive. Bloomberg reported that Soffer is looking to acquire the property, which would give him control of the second largest hotel in South Florida. Soffer already owns the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, the biggest hotel by room count in the tri-county region.
The Brookfield subsidiary recently refinanced the Diplomat hotel with a $168 million loan from Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo. The resort hit the market earlier this year and was expected to trade for up to $1 billion, or $1 million a key.
A Newmark Knight Frank team led by Larry Wolfe brokered the deal.
Thayer paid $460 million for the Diplomat in 2014. Shortly after the sale, the former Westin hotel was rebranded to Curio, a Hilton Worldwide Holdings brand.
In April 2017, Toronto-based Brookfield completed a $100 million renovation of the beachfront property, which has 96 suites, 515 king rooms, 484 double rooms, and more than 200,000 square feet of meeting and event space. It features 10 restaurants, including Monkitail by Michael Schulson.
Soffer launched Fontainebleau Development in March after splitting up interests in Turnberry Associates with his sister, Jackie Soffer. [Bloomberg] – Katherine Kallergis