Wheelock Street Capital Announces Acquisition of The Ben - West Palm Beach, Autograph Collection Hotel

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wheelock Street Capital announced it has acquired The Ben - West Palm Beach, a 208-room Marriott soft-branded, luxury hotel located at 251 N Narcissus Avenue in West Palm Beach, FL.

Purpose built in 2020 as Marriott Autograph Collection's first hotel in Palm Beach County, the 208-room property serves as the centerpiece of Flagler Banyan Square, a 435,000 square foot mixed-use lifestyle project. Conveniently located steps away from downtown West Palm Beach, the development features residential, dining, retail, and other amenities, while The Ben features a full-service restaurant, 7800 square feet of event space, rooftop ballroom, rooftop pool, and amenity deck complete with unparalleled views of the City Marina, Intracoastal Waterway, and Palm Beach Island.

Drawing media attention as "Wall Street South," West Palm Beach is in the midst of a development and investment renaissance with a robust housing market and strong new-to-market office activity from the Northeast and elsewhere. A number of high-quality new tenants, including Goldman Sachs, Point72 Asset Management, Benefit Street Partners, Susquehanna, Comvest Partners, Norwest Equity Partners, Lewis Longman Walker, and Sanders Capital, have made announcements regarding establishing a meaningful presence in the market. The continued growth of the West Palm Beach office demand supports a bullish outlook on the market, also evidenced by Wheelock's recent 153,000 SF office development investment located at 301 Clematis Street & 300 Banyan Boulevard, adjacent to The Ben.

Concord Hospitality, one of the top hospitality developers and managers in the U.S., was instrumental in the property's concept design, development, and launch. Concord, which operates a portfolio of over 130 hotels, including 23 hotels in Florida, will continue to retain management responsibilities under Wheelock's ownership.

"The acquisition marks Wheelock's first hotel purchase and second fund investment in the West Palm Beach market. The property's institutional quality, A+ location along the coveted Intracoastal, and irreplaceable, lifestyle waterfront nature in a growing South Florida market make this investment another ideal match with our current acquisition criteria. Located at the crossroads of the work-live-play epicenter of West Palm Beach, the property is set to benefit from continued leisure and rapidly accelerating corporate group demand," stated Tim Hodes, Principal and Head of Hotel Acquisitions for Wheelock Street Capital. "We look forward to our first hospitality investment engaging Concord's management and working to solidify the property's position as West Palm Beach's preeminent luxury hotel offering."

CBRE Group, Inc. ("CBRE") arranged the sale of The Ben - West Palm Beach, Autograph Collection Hotel.

About Wheelock Street Capital
Wheelock Street Capital (https://wheelockst.com/) was formed in 2008 by Rick Kleeman and Jonathan Paul, two veteran real estate private equity investors, each with 30 years of broad real estate transaction experience across all major asset classes. Wheelock has raised over $4 billion in capital commitments from well-known institutional investors and focuses on real estate investment opportunities throughout the United States, in both public and private markets. Wheelock is currently deploying its sixth fund in its value-added series, Wheelock Street Real Estate Fund VI and its first perpetual life fund, Wheelock Street Long Term Value Fund. The Long Term Value Fund targets high-quality, cash-flowing assets with stable, yet attractive risk-adjusted returns over a 5-15 year investment horizon. The firm may invest directly or with high quality joint venture partners through a variety of capital structures and transaction types, including acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations. Wheelock's investment team benefits from extensive experience from top-tier institutional investment firms and highly regarded real estate operating companies and has produced a 10-year track record of demonstrated and consistent outperformance over industry benchmarks.

About Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company
As an award-winning hotel development and management company, Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company has spent the last three decades building relationships with investors, partners, and third-party hotel owners on more than $2.5 billion in premium-branded properties across the United States and Canada. As an operator, Concord Hospitality instills value from the ground up, developing and managing with a sustainable viewpoint, a focus on quality and hands-on involvement to ensure long-term profitability and success. Concord Hospitality believes that its people are its greatest strength. With the brightest talent, the most innovative processes and a commitment to giving back to the communities where associates live and work, Concord Hospitality is committed to be a great place to work for all. To learn more about Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company, visit https://www.concordhotels.com/.