Banyan sells Kimpton Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, FL

BANYAN INVESTMENT GROUP recently sold its Kimpton Goodland Hotel Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida, to DiamondRock Hospitality Co. for $35.3 million. The sale is expected to bring a substantial return for investors in the Atlanta-based company, led by Andy Chopra as managing partner.

The 96-room hotel is near Las Olas and Sebastian Street beach parks, Bonnet House Museum and Gardens, Sea Turtle OP Headquarters and multiple shops and eateries.  Hotel amenities include an outdoor, heated pool, fitness center, loaner beach cruisers and beach items including boogie boards to folding chairs. F&B options include food and tiki-themed cocktails at Botanic at the Goodland or poolside drinks and snacks at the Good Bar.

Originally the company was planning to hold the deal for a longer period, Chopra said. However, conditions changed to allow a deal that could generate a 49.4 percent internal rate of return for Banyan’s investors.

“Following an extensive market study that led us to believe South Florida travel would rebound quickly, we took a calculated risk and purchased this property in the fourth quarter of 2020, prior to vaccines being released when travel volumes remained low,” Chopra said.  “Our research proved prescient, as evidenced by the fact that we were approached by DiamondRock with a price well above our original purchase price. While we are generally focused on long-term holds when it comes to hospitality assets, we balance that with the willingness to make opportunistic sales of our properties.”

At the end of last year, Banyan announced the initial closing of the $20 million Banyan Lodging Enhanced Value Fund, also known as BLEV or “Believe.” The fund gives investors an opportunity to purchase hotels that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the group said that the first closing delivered more than half of capital sought to acquire pandemic-impacted hotels.