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 R. Donahue Peebles Sells The Royal Palm Hotel for
$127.5 million; The Falor Companies Sixth Hotel
Acquisition in South Florida

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MIAMI BEACH, Fla - Dec. 6, 2004 -- R. Donahue Peebles, president and CEO of Peebles Atlantic Development Corporation (PADC), announced today the sale of The Royal Palm Hotel for $127.5 million to The Falor Companies, a Miami and Chicago-based hospitality company. The purchase agreement was finalized Friday and becomes one of the most lucrative deals in Miami Beach's history, according to a recent report in The Miami Herald, which references the price as the highest ever paid for a Miami Beach hotel.
 
Peebles won the rights to develop the historic South Beach hotel in 1996 and made it the first 100 percent African-American owned and developed luxury resort in the country, the key concession that ended a three-year black tourist boycott of Miami-Dade County. Located at the north end of Ocean Drive, The Royal Palm is considered the best-located hotel in Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County. Peebles directed a comprehensive $80 million reconstruction of the two historic hotel structures to create the highly successful 417-room resort that opened in May 2002 in the booming Art Deco District.
R. Donahue Peebles
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"We've created an outstanding property and stabilized it, and now we have the opportunity to recover capital and create new opportunities for Miami Beach," said Peebles.

Peebles fielded a wave of attractive offers for the historic property during recent months. Ultimately, The Falor Companies presented a compelling offer that resulted in subsequent negotiations followed by a letter of intent in early November. Falor's recent deals in Miami Beach are clear indication that they recognize the strength of Miami's hotel market. The purchase agreement also includes the 161 all-suite tower in the adjoining Shorecrest property. Peebles' executive Barron Channer, a recent graduate of The Wharton School, was instrumental in negotiating the deal.

H.T. Smith, a Miami lawyer and chief architect of the tourism boycott, praised Peebles in The Herald article, and endorsed the property deal.

"The Royal Palm was a symbol of what could be achieved with the collective perseverance of the black community," Smith stated. "I never expected any business and certainly not any hotel business to remain permanently in the hands of the original owner. I'm very proud of the fact that Don stepped forward and broke a barrier."

The Falor Companies purchase of The Royal Palm is the company's sixth acquisition in South Florida. Falor recently purchased The Tides hotel on South Beach for an undisclosed amount and plans to sell it as condominium-hotel units. The company expects to proceed with a similar plan for The Shorecrest, following a deal Peebles reached with the city in 2003 that provides for condo-hotel sales. Falor also anticipates bringing in world-renowned Hard Rock Hotel to brand and operate The Royal Palm.

During the past five years, Peebles' vision for The Royal Palm has attracted national spotlight with major stories in The New York Times, USA Today, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and brought in guests like Magic Johnson, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Marc Anthony, Ed Norton and Tommy Lee. Just last month, Peebles made a big announcement with the acquisition of The Ambassador Hotel in Southfield, Michigan. The new project will play a major role in the revitalization of the entire metropolitan Detroit marketplace and make it the largest African-American owned hotel in the country. Peebles also is currently completing another historic property with The Residences at The Bath Club, the posh 5.5-acre enclave with a mix of 117 condos and villas, priced from $2 million to $10 million. The $225 million property is over 90 percent sold.

The 44-year-old Peebles is the founder and chief executive of Peebles Atlantic Development Corporation, the largest wholly African American-owned hotel and real estate development/ownership concern in the country. He has become one of the biggest success stories in the country with a portfolio of properties estimated at approximately $500 million. This summer Black Enterprise magazine named Peebles "Company of the Year," the first Florida-based business ever to be designated with the honor.

The Falor Companies is a diversified hospitality firm specializing in development and asset management. The company has established itself as a leading entity in the United States involved in the acquisition of select resort and urban hotels for the conversion to condominium-hotels.


 
Contact:
 Peebles Atlantic Development Corporation
Also See: William S. Achenbaum, the Owner of Gansevoort Hotel New York City, Attempting to Buy the $54 million Mortgage on the Royal Palm Crowne Plaza Resort / August 2004
Miami Commissioners Chastise Developer R. Donahue Peebles for Playing 'the Race Card' in Ongoing Financial Dispute / June 2003
Peebles Atlantic Development Corp Set to Open the $84 million Royal Palm Crowne Plaza in Miami Beach / Jan 2002
R. Donahue Peebles Settles Dispute with Miami Beach; Will Convert Portion of Royal Palm Crowne Plaza to Time-share Units / Nov 2002
Donahue Peeble's Royal Palm Crowne Plaza Hotel Not Making Rent and Sales Tax Payments to Miami Beach / October 2002
Wyndham International, Backs Out of Deal with Developer R. Donahue Peebles for Hotel Next to Broward County Convention Center / July 2001
Minority-, Black-Owned' Wording Is Center of Debate on Miami Hotel Fallout / Aug 2001


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