Nakash, Partner Buy Beacon South Beach Hotel on Ocean Drive

The New York-based Nakash family and a partner paid $23.5 million for a hotel on Ocean Drive, adding to the Jordache Jeans’ owners holdings in Miami Beach.

South Beach Properties II, led by investor Michael Palmer, sold the 80-room, five-story Beacon South Beach Hotel building at 720 Ocean Drive, property records show. A company managed by Salem Mounayyer of Nakash Holdings acquired the property. Mounayyer said the Nakashes partnered with VE Group to purchase the hotel.

Beachfront Realty's Shani Ben-Hanania — Beachfront Realty’s Shani Ben-Hanania

It sold for about $294,000 per room. Shani Ben-Hanania and Samuel Heskiel of Beachfront Realty brokered the off-market sale.

The buyers will keep the Beacon South Beach Hotel open as they make upgrades to the property, Mounayyer said. The Art Deco property sits on a 0.2-acre lot fronting Lummus Park and the ocean. It was built in 1937 and expanded in 1948, and it includes a ground-floor restaurant called The Place Restaurant & Bar.

The Nakash family has built a global conglomerate that started with their fashion brand Jordache Jeans. The Nakashes now own at least six hotels on Ocean Drive.

Brothers Joe, Ralph and Avi Nakash own Hotel Breakwater at 940 Ocean Drive, Hotel Edison at 960 Ocean Drive, Hotel Victor at 1144 Ocean Drive, Hotel Ocean at 1236 Ocean Drive and the commercial space at The Strand at 1052 Ocean Drive.

They are also the owners of The Villa Casa Casuarina, the former home of the late fashion designer Gianni Versace, that was long known as the Versace Mansion, and which has been converted into a hotel.

In addition, Nakash bought the Setai’s hotel components, including two restaurants, for nearly $90 million in 2014. The Setai, a condo-hotel, is at 2001 Collins Avenue.

Mounayyer estimated that the Nakashes own about 500 hotel rooms in Miami Beach.

“We are looking to continue expanding our business here, even with what Ocean Drive is going through,” Mounayyer said, referencing crime and issues controlling crowds during Spring Break.

The Beacon’s facade, like much of Ocean Drive, has made appearances in Hollywood. It’s next to the building known for the famous chainsaw scene in the movie “Scarface.” That building is now leased to CVS.

Ben-Hanania of Beachfront called the Beacon hotel an “iconic” property. She reached out to the seller about a year ago to see if he was interested in selling, and arranged the sale with the Nakashes. It previously traded in 1997 for $4.4 million.

Average daily rates, a metric the hotel industry uses to gauge revenue, have fallen compared to last year, Heskiel said, But ADRs are higher on Ocean Drive than in the rest of Miami Beach, he added.

Companies led by the Nakash brothers sued the city of Miami Beach in late 2021 over Ocean Drive’s closure during the pandemic. The lawsuit is still open, court records show.