Ari Pearl, Jonathan Leifer acquire Bay Harbor Islands hotel out of foreclosure
Developer Ari Pearl and investor Jonathan Leifer paid $30 million for the Tryp Hotel in Bay Harbor Islands, with plans to convert it to a condo-hotel, The Real Deal has learned.
Pearl’s PPG Development and Leifer, chairman and founder of L3C Capital Partners, acquired the waterfront property out of foreclosure. Lender Ladder Capital Realty II LLC filed the foreclosure lawsuit in November against Bay Village Condos LLC. Glen Waldman, who represents the borrower, confirmed his client sold the hotel and that the loan was paid off.
The Tryp by Wyndham Miami Bay Harbor hotel, at 9540 West Bay Harbor Drive, will be converted to a 96-unit condo-hotel, according to Pearl. It will be branded as The Altair, an independent flag, and will feature a rooftop pool, restaurant and gym.
The purchase marks the first collaboration between Pearl and Leifer, who are close friends, according to a press release. Pearl said that both he and Leifer were searching for “prime distressed assets” in South Florida, and that they purchased the hotel for “well below replacement cost.”
Moshe Averbuch of Pleasant Realty was involved in the sale, and Oren Lieber of Ritter, Zaretsky, Lieber & Jaime LLP represented the buyers. Aaron Kurlansky of FM Capital consulted for the developers and arranged a $26 million loan with an unnamed national balance sheet lender.
Kurlansky, who declined to name the lender, said it “wasn’t a typical off-the-shelf type of loan” due to the buyers’ plans for the hotel.
The seven-story Bay Harbor Islands hotel was completed in 2018.
Hospitality was among the hardest hit sectors last year, and few hotels traded. In September, the owners of the Variety Hotel in Miami listed the property for sale amid a foreclosure lawsuit.
Pearl, along with real estate investor Mickey Taillard, is planning to redevelop a Hollywood golf course with luxury residences.
He’s also working on a major mixed-use project in Hallandale Beach. In 2019, he secured a $100 million loan for the $220 million SLS Resort Residence & Marina Hallandale Beach development.