AC Hotel Miami Midtown is the second hotel to open since 2017 on a stretch of Biscayne Boulevard … [+]
AC Hotel Miami Midtown
A stretch of Biscayne Boulevard in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood—once known as a seedy red-light district—is now attracting brand hotels.
On January 25, the AC Hotel Miami Midtown opened its doors for business next to a Hampton Inn & Suites that’s been in operation since 2017. Miami architect Kobi Karp, who designed both hotels, said AC Hotel’s arrival marks a turning point for commercial real estate along Biscayne Boulevard.
Previously, the property at 3400 Biscayne Boulevard was a rundown hotel more than 50 years old that attracted a criminal element. “People were not coming here and paying an average daily rate that was commensurate with the value of the area,” Karp said. “There was a bit of a problem with drugs and prostitution. So the developer decided to demolish the old hotel and build a new one.”
For many years, Karp said, hotel brands did not want to come to Biscayne Boulevard. But the population growth in Edgewater and Midtown Miami, along with the development boom that has added dozens of condominium and apartment towers, is fueling demand from travelers to stay in neighborhoods north of downtown Miami and off Miami Beach.
“The Midtown area is up and coming,” said Nelson Garcia, sales director for AC Hotel Miami Midtown. “Having the Design District and Wynwood close to us us a great opportunity to have a lot of movement.”
Wesner St Vi, general manager for AC Hotel Miami Midtown, said Marriott International also wanted to extend the AC Hotel brand’s footprint from Aventura, Doral and Miami Beach. “The property’s Midtown location will offer travelers a new destination in a fast-growing section of the city that is currently limited in its hospitality offerings,” St Vi said “We will make it easier for guests to access the myriad of cultural, culinary, and high-end retail attractions that have fueled the area’s growth in recent years.”
The AC Hotel Miami Midtown was developed and is owned by a partnership between Miami-based Aztec Group and Tennessee-based 3H Group. The joint venture also built and owns the Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Midtown at 3450 Biscayne Boulevard. The two companies paid $1.25 million for the 18,700-square-foot lot in January 2018 and then secured a $21.3 million construction loan to build the new seven-story hotel, which has elements that pay homage to the Miami Modern architectural style.
“The facade has the DNA of the MiMo style,” Karp explained. “That is how we came to play with the ins-and-outs of the concrete facade. When you drive from the north to the south, you mostly see concrete. You drive from the south to the north, you see mostly glass. That kind of play allows you to create an artistic configuration on the facade that is enhanced by the sunlight.”
The 153-room property features interiors by Moniomi and showcases the AC Hotel brand’s signature open-concept spaces and modern aesthetic, including crisp design lines, sleek furnishings, an open closet system and LVT floors in all rooms.
Amenities include a rooftop, ocean view pool, fitness center, and communal spaces that offer state-of-the-art technology for guests and locals to work, connect, explore and socialize. In addition to the main restaurant and lounge in the hotel lobby, the hotel will feature ELEVAR, a rooftop bar that will serve as a focal point of the hotel, inviting guests and locals to unwind while overlooking Biscayne Bay.