After years of waiting, the Shelborne, a premier South Beach property, is set to reopen. The Galbut family of Miami Beach has waited nearly three years for the location to again become one of South Beach’s hottest attractions. Although the hotel underwent significant renovations in 2011 as a part of a plan to change its image to a more mature one, the results weren’t what the owners had been looking for. Jared Galbut and family realized after the first round of renovations that it was all or nothing if they wanted to bring the property into the ranks of Miami’s elite. “It was such an iconic property that I think after the last renovation, we realized we needed to go full steam and renovate the entire property to realize the true value.”
The most recent renovations cost $90 million and impacted the entire property. Some of the improvements include the Morimoto South Beach, a high-profile restaurant, redone guest rooms and all new non-visible features like mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades. Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, president of Flag Luxury Group, one of the owners of the hotel, and her team oversaw the renovation with help from various external professionals. Kanavos knew the Galbut family through the board at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. With experience in luxury hotels Kanavos, whose company developed and owns the Ritz-Carlton in South Beach, and the Galbut’s had mutually aligned interests in bringing the property back to life.
With more and more tourists, many of whom are wealthy, arriving in Miami, both parties found it a good time to acquire the necessary financing to renovate the building. The main issue citied by Flag luxury was an inconsistent product. Many of the units were owned by third parties as condos, and thus were not all in the same condition. So, with the help of Flag Luxury and an outside real estate investment trust, the Galbut family repurchased every available unit for almost $200 million. This gave them the opportunity to renovate almost all the units and deliver a consistent product to their customers.
The Shelborne held its first event last week, a charity fundraiser, to kick off the reopening of this historic property. This story highlights a growing trend in Miami real estate – a significant increase in hotel creation and renovation. Greater than 3,000 rooms are slated to be finished in the near future. If you have questions about luxury properties in the Miami area please feel free to contact a RE/MAX agent today!