Rockpoint Group buys Aloft South Beach for $105M

Aloft South Beach and Jason Halpern

New York-based JMH Development and Mitchell Hochberg have just sold the Aloft South Beach to Rockpoint Group for $105 million, or $446,809 per room.

Aloft South Beach, developed by Jason Halpern's JMH Development, Madden Real Estate Ventures and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, opened in June 2015. Hochberg is the principal of Madden Real Estate Ventures.

The eight-story hotel, at 2360 Collins Avenue, has 235 rooms and features a Stephen Starr restaurant, Continental Miami.

Halpern told The Real Deal Friday that the hotel market in Miami has become overheated, while the costs of land and construction have risen. “There is too much supply,” he said. “I think long term, the supply will perform well once the [Miami Beach] Convention Center is completed.”

In the meantime, he is on the lookout for other opportunities. “I run a boutique development firm, and part of what also drove me to sell is that in the two markets I am focused on, New York and Miami, there are going to be some real opportunities…. It will free up our time and create liquidity to execute new deals.”

Built on the site of the historic 1954 Ankara Motel, the Aloft South Beach was built 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 features 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 told TRD last year.

Aloft South Beach was 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.

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.

Rockpoint Group is a private equity firm with offices in Dallas, San Francisco and Boston. Some of its recent deals include the $113.5 million purchase of Mary Brickell Village and a $30 million purchase of a retail building on Miami Beach's Lincoln Road.