Ritz-Carlton Plans Club and Residences at Seville Hotel Site

MIAMI-Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, South Beach will be developed at the site of the historic Miami-Modern-style Seville Hotel at 2901 Collins Ave. The complex will contain 44 fractional residential units and 94 whole-ownership residential units within the renovated Seville and two new towers.

Chevy Chase, MD-based Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. is forming a joint venture with locally based Lionstone Development and Fortune International for the project. According to published reports, Lionstone owns the Seville and is the developer of multiple hospitality, gaming, residential and mixed-use projects in Florida, the Caribbean and Latin America. Fortune is full-service real estate developer and brokerage firm.

The fractional component represents an extension of the Ritz-Carlton Club brand, a members-only arm of the company that has properties in Colorado and the US Virgin Islands and is also adding a new club location in San Francisco. The clubs offer deeded interests in fractional units with 21 days of use. Club members requested the company pursue opportunities in both South Beach and San Francisco, says Robert Phillips, SVP of business development for the Ritz-Carlton Club, in a statement. Projects combining Ritz-Carlton brand hotel and for-sale residential condos are proliferating. One was announced for Dallas in May, and another was announced for Philadelphia this August.

Spokespeople for the South Beach JV declined to disclose any additional information about the pricing of owned and fractional units, estimated construction and renovation costs, or the timeline for construction. Sales of residential units are scheduled to begin in early 2006, followed by fractional-ownership marketing beginning in mid-2006.