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BY SAMANTHA JOSEPH hep
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A Chicago firm plans to spend gs
' more than$120 million this year - g o
to buy Miami-Dade County ho- ger
tels to convert into condomini- rri,
ums. 4
The Falor Cos.has spent$80'
million on four local hotels since
May and expects to spend an-
other$45 million on at least four
more in Miami Beach and Miami's
Brickell area,President and CEO )
Robert Falor said this week.
The Tides,Falor's most recent ,c
purchase,will yield 45 condos by —
November,Mr.Falor said.
It is Falor's third South Beach �v
site, joining Breakwater andu
Edison,neighbors at 10th Street ;n
and Ocean Drive.Falor will com-
bine them to create 145 condos
and spend$9 million on renova- o`
tions. pit
The company's first Miami- io
Dade property, Mayfair House �u
Hotel,purchased in May for$14.7
million,is undergoing a$10 mil-
p:
lion facelift that includes a new
ballroom,spa and restaurant. r.
Renovation of the four hotels le,
will costFalor about$24 million.
Falor is not alone in its interest
in local hotels. t.
Fortune International is in talks
to convert at least two hotels, is
which it plans to market primarily
to foreign executives with ties to
Florida. 1
"People in Europe and Latin
America love the concept of the
condo-hotel,"said Fortune Presi-
dent and CEO Edgardo
Defortuna. "When they come
here,they could travel light.It's
like a turnkey kind of residence.
Bring your suitcase and your
toothbrush,and you're set."
For the conveniences of room >1
service,housekeeping and onsite
dining,hotel-condos carry higher ;r
price tags—about$50 more per h�
square foot than other residences,
said Mr.Defortuna. ,o
But it's a price that buyers are u
willing to pay,developers say.
Said Mr.Falor:"What is obvi-
ous to us is that there is a lot of
pent-up demand."