The Villa Paradiso at 1415 Collins Avenue and The Orchid House Hotel at 1350 Collins Avenue with Randall Smith of Alden Global Capital and Joe Nakash (Getty, Wikipedia) via www.therealdeal.com
Properties with short-term rental friendly zoning a plus, brokers say
Two prominent buyers acquired boutique hotels in South Beach in separate deals as demand for such properties continues to rise.
In the most recent purchases, a company linked to the “vulture” hedge fund Alden Global Capital paid $6 million for the 17-suite Villa Paradiso at 1415 Collins Avenue, property records show. Miami Real Estate Investment Corp., led by Lisa and Pascal Nicolle, sold the hotel.
Susan Gale of One Sotheby’s International Realty represented the buyer and seller. Gale, who declined to comment on the buyer, said the property’s zoning was very desirable. The two-story building, constructed in 1935, is in a mixed-use entertainment (MXE) district in Miami Beach, where short-term rentals are allowed.
The buyer lists the address of Twenty Lake Holdings, the real estate company affiliated with Alden Global Capital. It plans to renovate the building and operate it as short-term rentals, Gale said.
“These types of properties with zoning for short-term rental are very difficult to find. I have a list of people who want to buy them. They’ll buy as many as I have,” Gale said. “It’s a coveted type of property, and it has to have the right kind of zoning.”
West Palm Beach-based Alden Global Capital owns more than 200 newspapers across the country, including the Sun-Sentinel and the New York Daily News. It has been widely criticized for its cost-cutting methods after acquiring the publications. The multibillion-dollar hedge fund is led by Randall “Randy” Smith and Heath Freeman. Smith and his wife, Barbara Stovall Smith, as well as Freeman, have all invested in South Florida real estate over the past two years.
The South Beach hotel previously traded for $790,000 in 1993.
