Carey Watermark Investors Buys Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale
Carey Watermark Investors Incorporated (CWI 1) announced that it has acquired a majority interest in The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale property in a joint venture with RCFL Holdco, LLC, an affiliate of Gencom, one of North America’s leading hospitality and luxury hospitality-related residential real estate investment and development firms. This transaction marks Carey Watermark Investors’ third joint venture purchase with the Gencom family of companies, following The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia (CWI 1) and The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne, Miami, (CWI 1 and CWI 2) acquisitions. The three transactions represent a total investment of more than $500 million.
Key Facts
Premier beachfront location in Fort Lauderdale: Located on Fort Lauderdale Beach, adjacent to some of the area’s most exclusive, high-end residential real estate, the hotel is within proximity to leisure demand generators, including golf courses, shopping malls, museums, nightclubs and marinas. The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale is minutes away from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades, and within a 30-minute drive to Miami International Airport.
Robust Fort Lauderdale hotel market: From 2009 to 2014, the Fort Lauderdale lodging market RevPAR experienced a compound annual growth rate of 7.6% and is projected to increase over the next two years, according to PKF Hospitality Research.
Extensive renovation planned for 2015: An extensive renovation of the hotel is planned for 2015, including a complete renovation and re-conceptualization of the three-meal restaurant, renovation and expansion of the spa to include new sauna and steam areas, the addition of an indoor/outdoor bar, updates to the main lobby and other public spaces, and the creation of a signature 3,700 square-foot retail store.
Strong Marriott brand affiliation: The hotel will continue to be managed by The Ritz-Carlton Company, L.L.C. (The Ritz Carlton), an affiliate of Marriott International. As part of The Ritz-Carlton’s portfolio, the hotel benefits from its luxury branding and Marriott’s management platform affiliation, including access to The Ritz-Carlton’s global distribution system and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards program.
AAA Five Diamond luxury hotel amenities:
166 guestrooms
34 third-party owned condominium hotel units (32 included in hotel managed rental pool)
28 third-party owned residential units
25,000 square feet of meeting and function space
8,500 square-foot spa
Outdoor infinity swimming pool and 29,000 square-foot pool deck
Skywalk to beach
Fitness center
Business center
Four food & beverage outlets
Management Commentary
Michael Medzigian, Chief Executive Officer of CWI 1: “The joint venture investment in The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale represented the opportunity to acquire the only AAA Five Diamond hotel in Fort Lauderdale—a strong-growth market that benefits from solid fundamentals and a strategic location with respect to air transportation and leisure demand generators. Additionally, working on our third transaction with Gencom in recent months for both CWI 1 and CWI 2, we were able to recapitalize the asset to fund an extensive renovation. Our acquisition of this uniquely positioned, soon-to-be-renovated, luxury hotel in the established Fort Lauderdale resort market continues to enhance the overall quality of our portfolio. We look forward to executing on additional value-add and cash flow-generating opportunities over the coming months and years.”
Carey Watermark Investors
Carey Watermark Investors Incorporated is a publicly registered REIT that was formed to make investments primarily in the lodging and lodging-related sectors. Affiliates of W. P. Carey Inc. and Watermark Capital Partners advise CWI 1 and manage its overall portfolio. www.careywatermark.com
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