For $20M, Leslie Hotel Joins ‘Boutique' Condo Collection

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MIAMI-A partnership between Paul Anton and Steven Boughner has closed on a $9.5-million acquisition of the 1930′s Art Deco-style Leslie Hotel at 1244 Ocean Dr. Anton tells GlobeSt.com this is the second property in what he calls the “Miami Beach Collection” of “boutique” condo properties. The seller is a group of investors from South America and Europe.

The Leslie’s hotel operations “went out of commission” at the close on Aug. 12, Anton says, and his partnership will invest $10 million to convert the four-story, 48-room property into eight duplex condominiums to sell for between $1.5 million and $2 million each. The selling price includes membership in Casa Casuarina, a private club located one block away.

“We’re removing the floors to create double-high vertical spaces,” Anton says. Units will range from about 1,200 sf to 1,500 sf under air, each with a private rooftop terrace containing a small pool and waterfall. Asked if with just eight units, the partnership would recover its investment, Anton says yes. That’s because the property will also contain 8,000 sf of revenue producing retail space, he says, which is being targeted to a club, restaurant or bar, consistent with the area’s nightlife.

The same partnership acquired the Carlyle at 1250 Ocean Dr. in April and converted it into 19 residential units. Anton says all 19 are sold and “we’re turning over the space this November.” The Carlyle contains a multi-level cocktail lounge on the ground floor to which residents of Leslie will have “priority admission,” he says. He also tells GlobeSt.com the partnership is “working on another Ocean Drive acquisition,” which he did not identify but says it will be the third in the “collection.”