The Aloft South Beach in Miami was sold to Rockpoint Group, a Boston-based real estate investment trust, for $105 million, or roughly $447,000 per room.
The hotel’s developer, JMH Development, sold the property after acquiring it in 2004. At that time, the hotel was known as the Banana Bungalow, though it opened as the Motel Ankara in 1954. JHM’s goal was to operate the Bungalow as a series of boutique condos, but when the recession hit in 2008 the property was shuttered.
“We launched sales for 85 condo units; we sold 36,” Jason Halpern, owner and principal of JMH, said in a statement. “When the recession hit and the writing was on the wall, we — unlike most developers — abandoned the project, returned deposits to our buyers and boarded up the motel.”
JMH would revisit the hotel in 2011 after partnering with Mitchell Hochberg, president of New York developer Lightstone Group, to transform it into an Aloft. The Aloft South Beach opened in June 2015 as part of a restored and expanded eight-story tower.
The property’s life as an Aloft was short lived, though at 235 rooms it was reportedly the largest hotel in the brand’s portfolio. Now, the property has been re-categorized under Hilton’s DoubleTree brand, and renamed the property The Gates Hotel.