After holding onto the W Fort Lauderdale for more than a decade, Steve Ross’ Related Companies sold the 346-key oceanfront hotel for $97.7 million.
An affiliate of New York-based Blackstone, led by CEO Stephen Schwarzman, acquired the hotel portion of the 3.8-acre property at 401 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard, records show. The investment giant paid $282,225 per room.
The W Fort Lauderdale consists of two 23-story towers completed in 2010 that also include 171 condo units, records show. New York-based Related Fund Management bought the W Fort Lauderdale in 2014 for $90 million, and subsequently completed a $55 million renovation of the hotel, rebranding it under the W flag.
In 2018, Related listed the W Fort Lauderdale hotel for $275 million, the same year the firm refinanced a loan on the property for $140 million.
Blackstone’s purchase of the W Fort Lauderdale comes as the publicly traded firm has divested large chunks of its South Florida hotel portfolio during the past two years. In August, Blackstone sold three Marriott-branded hotels in Miramar and Plantation for a combined $64 million. New York-based Three Wall Capital bought the three properties, which have a total of 393 rooms.
Also last year, Blackstone sold two Hyatt-branded hotels in Dania Beach to Delray Beach-based Kolter Group. The two properties traded for a combined $40.1 million.
In 2022, hotel investors Ramzan and Amin Gulamali bought a Hampton Inn & Suites hotel in Tamarac from Blackstone. The buyers paid $17.8 million. The same year, Blackstone sold three Motel 6 properties and two Studio 6 extended-stay hotels in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties for a combined $61 million. Georgia-based Global Hotel Group acquired the budget hotels.
Blackstone has also been wheeling and dealing other commercial assets in South Florida. In December, the firm sold Pinebrook Pointe, a 394-unit apartment complex in Margate. Coral Gables-based Bar Invest Group paid $93 million for the multifamily project.