Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Singer Island soon could be puttin’ on the Ritz for the hottest luxury hotel brand around.
The new owners of the 2700 North Ocean condominium are in serious talks with the vaunted Ritz-Carlton about making the twin-tower condo into a Ritz resort, according to sources close to the deal.
The property is being eyed as a Ritz residence, offering luxury condos with Ritz-style hotel amenities. It is unclear whether any fractional ownership of condo units would be allowed.
But the beachfront property, on Singer Island in Riviera Beach, isn’t likely to become a standard Ritz hotel. The units are too large to be used as hotel rooms.
The Ritz is being courted by the condo’s new owners, Lionheart Capital LLC of Miami. In June, Lionheart paid $120 million for 146 unsold condo units in the 242-unit project, which was developed by Palm Beach Gardens builder Dan Catalfumo.
Lionheart consists of the Flagler Group of Miami, a real estate firm with expertise in condo-hotels, plus two investment firms. One is Elliott Management, a prominent New York investment firm. The other, OZ Holdings, is a Miami-based private investment firm.
This potential deal with the Ritz has the real estate community abuzz. But no one involved wanted to talk because details still are being finalized. “I regret this is speculation and we cannot comment,” a Ritz spokeswoman said.
A spokeswoman for the new ownership group also wouldn’t talk yet. “There’s nothing to report at this stage,” Amy Zakarin said. “There’s been a lot of conversations about how we’re going to brand this property in time for season, but I think it’s premature to announce something now.”
The Ritz affiliation, if wrapped up, is expected to be announced in October.
