A family-owned, Coral Springs-based real estate investment firm is making a big splash in Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Affiliates of LWHT Property Management, headed by Tom Assouline, paid a combined $27.2 million for six boutique hotel and motel properties and a parking lot, according to records. The properties, built between 1959 and 1974, are at 3601, 3621, 3623, 3711, 3801, 3811 and 3821 North Ocean Boulevard.
The sellers are affiliates managed by Yury Gnesin of Hallandale Beach, which paid a combined $13.4 million for the seven sites between 2013 and 2017, according to records. Matthew Jacocks with Lee & Associates represented the sellers.
The latest deal involved six separate transactions, including $11.3 million for the 66-unit Royal Beach Palace, the largest property in the portfolio, records show. The LWHT affiliates paid roughly $175,324 a key for a combined 154 rooms.
Founded in 2010, LWHT Property Management owns condos, townhouses and single-family houses for rent in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to the company’s website. In addition to Tom Assouline, LWHT is managed by Ellie and Laurence Assouline, records show.
Jacocks said the six buildings total 67,254 square feet. Combined with the vacant lot, the properties make up a contiguous 2.56-acre site in a “high barrier to entry” market, Jacocks said. The assemblage is within Galt Mile, an area with oceanfront condominiums, and offers sought-after frontage on Ocean Boulevard, he added.
Large assemblages in Fort Lauderdale Beach are scarce, as developers have gobbled up prime sites for new luxury projects.
In March, the owners of Franco & Vinny’s Pizza Shack sold a 1.26-acre assemblage slice in Fort Lauderdale Beach, including their restaurant, to Flying Point and Integra Investments. The joint venture paid $7.2 million for the properties at 2828 to 2908 East Sunrise Boulevard.
Nearby, Delray Beach-based Kolter Urban is developing Selene Oceanfront Residences, a 26-story condominium at 3000 Alhambra Street that will have 204 units. Cavache Properties recently completed 30 Thirty North Ocean at 30 North Ocean Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale Beach. The boutique project has sold 70 percent of its 24 units.