Aloft South Beach will officially open May 28, representatives from the hotel announced this week.
The 235-room hotel was built on the foundation of the historic Ankara Motel at 2360 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach and was expected to open Feb. 26. But construction delays pushed its grand opening back, said Spokeswoman Raven McMillan.
JMH Development, Madden Real Estate Ventures and Starwood Hotels & Resorts were behind the effort to create the modern hotel, which features nine-foot ceilings in its "loft-like" rooms — some as big as 350 square feet — with balconies and views of the city. Other amenities include a 1,500-square-foot indoor meeting space, a 5,000-square-foot outdoor event space, blue tooth-enabled door locks and a 24-hour gym.
Continental Miami, an Asian eatery by restaurateur Stephen Starr, will also open at the hotel serving food from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.
Aloft South Beach — developed by Jason Halpern’s New York-based JMH Development, Madden Real Estate Ventures and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, announced Tuesday that it will open on May 28.
The hotel, at 2360 Collins Avenue, will have 235 rooms and will feature a Stephen Starr restaurant, Continental Miami.
“We’re excited about it. Obviously it’s an excellent location,” Halpern told The Real Deal. “We think that we’re building a unique product because we have been working with a powerful flag and brand, Starwood Hotels.”
Built on the site of the historic 1954 Ankara Motel, the project has aimed to preserve its Art Deco architecture, incorporating classic brick walls in the “historic wing,” refurbished Ankara Motel signage and the original pool shape. The hotel’s lobby will feature a series of black-and-white images of 1970s beach scenes and near the entrance, a large-scale aerial view photograph of models in vintage swimsuits.
Halpern, together with partner RCG, whose principal is Michael Boxer, bought the Aloft site in June 2005 for $12.85 million, with plans for a residential project. “When the recession hit we allowed the project to sit, and we went back and got approvals for what you now see, and started construction 15 months ago,” Halpern said.
Aloft South Beach is the first South Florida project for JMH, which is developing Three Hundred Collins, a 19-residence luxury condominium in the South of Fifth neighborhood of Miami Beach.
The five-story property, at 300 Collins Avenue, is being designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen, marking his first project in Miami. In New York, the famed designer-architect has designed the interiors of One57, and is currently the architect on 11 Beach Street in Tribeca, as well as 505 West 19th Street.
Sales for Three Hundred Collins launched in March, and eight units are reserved even before a sales office has opened, Halpern said. ONE Sotheby’s International Realty is the exclusive sales and marketing firm.
Plans call for units on floors two through five, with a lobby and amenity area on the first floor, and parking behind the building. One- to- four-bedroom units, including four two-story “duplex” condos and three penthouses, are priced from $1.2 million to $9 million. Construction is expected to begin in September, Halpern said.
After founding JMH Development in 2000, Halpern primarily focused on development projects in New York, before he turned his attention to South Florida. He was among the pioneers in Williamsburg, developing 184 Kent Avenue, a 337-unit rental building that was completed in 2010.
Already, a third South Florida project is in the works. JMH purchased 2901 Indian Creek Boulevard for $1.2 million in July 2013, and is planning a 30,000-square-foot residential development, Halpern said. The project will go before the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board on May 12.
Myles Chefetz, the celebrity restaurateur behind such South-of-Fifth hotspots as Prime 112 and Prime Italian, has signed a contract to buy a $3 million townhome at Three Hundred Collins.
Developer Jason Halpern, founder of JMH Development, told us that Chefetz walked into Three Hundred Collins’ sales center and signed a deal for one of project’s planned four townhomes.
“When he pursued it, it showed that someone like Myles is interested in buying,” Halpern said. “He is a pioneer and contributed greatly to the South-of-Fifth lifestyle.”
Halpern’s New York-based JMH Development’s luxury boutique condominium, at 300 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, marks prominent architect Thomas Juul-Hansen’s first Miami residential project.
Chefetz said he wasn’t looking to buy, but when he went into the sales office, he was “overwhelmed by the design.” The five-story building is a block away from his corporate office, and he can see the site from his window.
“It’s a real interesting, hip project,” Chefetz told TRD. “I love the finishes. I love the design and I love the townhome living, indoor/outdoor. It’s like owning a home within a condominium.”
Chefetz’s three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath townhome will have 2,397 square feet of indoor space and 2,932 square feet of outdoor space. Its features include nearly 19-foot ceilings, a great room, a den, and wrap-around rear yard, Halpern said.
Anna Sherrill of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty handled the sale.
When completed in 2017, Three Hundred Collins will have one-to-four bedroom units, ranging from 995 square feet to more than 3,700 square feet, priced from $1.7 million to more than $9 million. Units will be outfitted with white oak floors, stone finishes and floor-to-ceiling windows, the developer said. The property’s amenities will include a fitness center, valet and 24-hour attended lobby with personal service, plus a rooftop area with a 75-foot saltwater pool and hot tub.
The project opened its sales center in October and is more than 50 percent sold. Construction will begin in February 2016, Halpern said.
Chefetz has lived in the South-of-Fifth neighborhood since 1994, first buying at South Pointe Towers. In May 2013, he sold his penthouse at Ocean House to leveraged buyout king Marc Leder for $15 million. Since then, he said he has been renting at the Continuum, and also owns a home on the Venetian Islands in Miami Beach.
The restaurateur has launched a slew of restaurants in South of Fifth, including Nemo, Big Pink, Shoji, Prime 112, Prime Italian and Prime Fish. He also owns the Prime Hotel.
“I always loved this area to live and to work,” Chevetz told us. “It was quieter.”
He views the interior of South-of-Fifth, where Three Hundred Collins is located, as the next wave of development.
“I like getting involved in a project from the ground up,” he said. I love to build things and go from plan to fruition to completion.”