THE SLS LOGO REMOVED | Photo by Nadia Bouzid
On April 19, 2024, the SLS signage came down at 1300 South Miami Avenue. DUA now marks the hotel entrance where SLS used to be, while the condominium entrance simply reads “Residences,” with SLS removed from above it. Less than eight years after the building opened, the name used to market the apartments alongside their design, services, and access to hotel amenities is disappearing from the entrances.
The hotel is becoming DUA Miami, affiliated with Marriott’s Autograph Collection and operated by Aimbridge Hospitality. Albania’s Kastrati Group purchased it in October 2023 for $53.5 million, according to JLL. The sale came first; the new name and operating arrangement followed in 2024.
SLS Brickell opened in October 2016 with 124 hotel rooms and 450 condominium residences. Related developed the project with sbe and Dakota Development, with architecture by Arquitectonica and hotel interiors by Philippe Starck. The apartments were sold to individual owners, with the hotel downstairs and hotel amenities available to residents.
It is easy to understand the appeal of that arrangement. If you know a hotel brand, you have something to go on before the building exists. You may know its service, its restaurants, or how it handles the details of a stay. In a new construction purchase, where so much is still on paper, that familiarity can carry weight.
But how long is the name part of what you are buying? An apartment might remain in the same family for decades. The agreements allowing a development to use a brand can have a much shorter life, with conditions for renewal and termination. That difference deserves attention before signing a purchase contract.
THE SLS LOGO TAKEN DOWN 03/19/24 | Photo by Nadia Bouzid
The ownership history at SLS Brickell helps explain why. Related’s first hotel sale was reported in January 2019 at $43 million. The purchaser signed a management agreement with sbe, and the SLS identity remained. Almost five years later, the hotel sold again, this time to Kastrati, and a change in branding and operations followed. The earlier article on the hotel sale sets out those transactions and the separate restaurant purchase.
A branded condominium can involve several agreements: permission to use the name to market and sell the residences, arrangements for managing them after delivery, and agreements covering the hotel and shared facilities. The developer, hotel owner, operator, brand, and condominium association may each have different responsibilities. A presentation that brings them together under one name does not tell you how those responsibilities are divided.
With a hotel component, I would want to know whether the residential branding depends on the hotel keeping its affiliation. In some developments, those relationships are contractually linked. I have not reviewed SLS Brickell’s private agreements, so I would not claim to know which provision ended this particular arrangement. What is visible here is enough to make the question relevant to someone buying elsewhere.
DUA Hotel Brickell | photo by Nadia Bouzid
The same attention belongs on the amenities. If access to a pool, spa, or hotel service is part of the reason you are buying, establish who owns the facility, what grants residents access, and who pays for its operation and renovation. You need to understand which rights belong to the condominium and which services depend on a separate agreement.
For new construction buyers, these questions are easier to raise while comparing projects. Ask how long the residential affiliation lasts, who can terminate it, and what happens to services and fees if it ends. Have your attorney identify the relevant provisions in the purchase and condominium documents. The answers should be specific to the property, rather than an assurance that the brand has a good reputation.
A change of name does not establish a loss in value. A new operator may improve service or invest in the property. Equally, recognition may matter when an owner advertises an apartment for rent or sale. Any conclusion about the financial effect needs evidence from actual transactions and operating costs.
What I would take from SLS Brickell is a question to ask before buying: if the brand left, would I still want this apartment at this price? The location, layout, construction, expenses, and rights to use the amenities would still need to justify the purchase. Understanding the branding agreement helps establish how much confidence to place in the name while making that decision.
Facts and figures
Address: 1300 South Miami Avenue, Miami
Original name: SLS Brickell Hotel & Residences
New hotel identity: DUA Miami, Autograph Collection
Developer: The Related Group with sbe and Dakota Development
Architect: Arquitectonica
Hotel interior design: Philippe Starck
Opening: October 2016
Floors: 51
Condominium residences: 450 in the original project description
Hotel rooms and suites: 124
First hotel sale: $43 million, reported in January 2019
First purchaser: Brickell Miami LLC, associated with Constellation Hotels Holdings
First sale price per key: Approximately $346,774
Second hotel sale: October 2023
Purchaser: Kastrati Group
Price announced by JLL: $53.5 million
Second sale price per key: Approximately $431,452
Hotel operator after rebranding: Aimbridge Hospitality
Hotel affiliation: Marriott’s Autograph Collection
SLS signage removed: April 2024
Separate restaurant sale: Former Bazaar Mar premises purchased by Robert Rivani’s Black Lion for $10 million in spring 2023
Incoming restaurant: RosaNegra, with an announced 10 year lease
DUA Brickell | photo by Nadia Bouzid
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