1663-20 Art Deco/Preservation SAT AUG 14 1993 ED: FINAL
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 1C LENGTH: 10.52" MEDIUM
ILLUST: photo: National hotel is at 1677 Collins Ave (MIAMI
BEACH HOTEL)
SOURCE: LARRY BIRGER Business Monday Editor
DATELINE:
MEMO:
BEACH HOTEL SELLS FOR $4 . 1 MILLION;
NEW OWNER PLANS REHABILITATION
A second Collins Avenue hotel has changed hands as the trend of
revitalizing Miami Beach oceanfront hotels begins to take hold.
Majestic Hotel Corp. bought the National Hotel at 1677 Collins Ave. for
$4 . 1 million. The company operates the Avalon and Majestic hotels on Ocean
Drive in South Beach.
"We believe it ' s the next area to thrive on Miami Beach, and we ' ll be
doing rehabilitation to make that happen, " said Richard Evans, Majestic ' s
chief financial officer.
The 160-room National is adjacent to the 238-room Delano Hotel at 1685
Collins Ave. , which was recently purchased by New York hotelier Ian Schrager.
Schrager said he plans to commit as much as $20 million to renovate and
upgrade the Delano before it reopens late next year.
Stuart Blumberg, president of the Miami Beach Resort Hotel Association,
also saw purchase of the two hotels as a move toward revitalizing the core of
older hostelries close to the city' s convention center.
"The trend began in South Beach and now is spreading northward, "
Blumberg said. "From the standpoint of our industry and the city' s economy,
it ' s nice to see. "
However, Blumberg insisted that rehabilitating older hotels alone will
not increase Miami Beach' s ability to capture convention-associated business.
Lobby rehabilitation will be the first step in Majestic ' s plan to enhance the
National, which Evans said would continue while the hotel remains open.
The National was acquired from Jamal Corp. , a Mideast company that held
it for several years.
ADDED TERMS: cost
END OF DOCUMENT.