Gencom is retaking full ownership of the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove.
An affiliate of Miami-based Gencom, led by Karim Alibhai, bought partner Hersha Hospitality Trust’s majority stake in the 115-key hotel at 3300 Southwest 27th Avenue, according to a news release. Gencom and Hersha declined to comment on the sale price, which was not recorded in a public deed.
Gencom financed the purchase with a $12 million loan from Banco Inbursa, records show.
Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove consists of two 21-story towers completed in 2002 that also include 87 condo units owned by individual investors and 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space. Amenities include a pool, restaurant, spa, salon and fitness center.
Gencom purchased the hotel portion in 2011 for $10.2 million, records show. Six years later, the firm entered into a partnership with Hersha that acquired the hotel for $36 million.
Gencom and Hersha renovated the rooms, the lobby and the pool, as well as opening Isabelle’s Coconut Grove restaurant in 2018.
Coconut Grove real estate development is experiencing a revival with a handful of projects in the pipeline, including Ziggurat, a planned mixed-use project by Coral Gables-based Allen Morris Company that recently secured a $138.5 million construction loan. Last year, Venezuelan developer SSA Group launched sales for Roble One, a planned three-story, short-term rental friendly condo project with 16 units.
Founded more than 40 years ago, Gencom controls a global portfolio of luxury hotels, resorts and branded residential properties with nearly $8 billion in assets under management. Through its affiliates, including Pyramid Global Hospitality and Convene, the firm is tied to more than 50,000 hotel keys and over 2 million square feet of meeting and flexible office space worldwide, the release states.
Last month, Gencom partnered with Highgate and Argent Ventures to buy the InterContinental New York Times Square, a 607-room hotel in Manhattan, for $230 million.
And last year, Gencom joined forces with Edgardo DeFortuna’s Miami-based Fortune International Group to combine and renovate two Key Biscayne waterfront sites, consisting of a Ritz-Carlton hotel and the Grand Bay Club. A Gencom affiliate, which owns the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, paid $20 million for Grand Bay Club, a 14,500-square-foot private beach club on 2.4 acres.
The firm and Fortune refinanced a $210 million loan with New York-based Blackstone, and increased the mortgage by $100 million. The new funds will be used to renovate the two properties.
