CLIENT NEWS: Jeffrey Soffer’s Fontainebleau buys Story nightclub building
March 7, 2023Jeffrey Soffer, who co-owns the Story nightclub with hospitality impresario David Grutman, bought the venue’s South Beach building for $23 million.
Soffer’s Fontainebleau Development bought the 17,000-square-foot property at 124-136 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach from an entity managed by Patricia Kaine, according to records and real estate database Vizzda. The buyer financed the deal with a $15.2 million loan that lists Motcomb Estates, the Reuben brothers’ United Kingdom-based investment vehicle, as the lender and the mortgage’s administrative agent.
The two-story building, completed in 1994, spans just under half an acre, according to Vizzda.
The deal comes as Amnesia International — the ownership entity Soffer and Grutman use for Story – is suing the city of Miami Beach over a recently approved booze ban.
Last week, commissioners voted to roll back alcohol sale hours in the South of Fifth neighborhood to 2 a.m. from 5 a.m., making an exception for venues that have a capacity of no more than 100 customers. According to the lawsuit, the carve-out for smaller businesses essentially singles out and illegally targets only Story, the biggest venue in the neighborhood.
Although the ban was set to take effect at 2 a.m. on Monday, the city agreed in court this week to postpone enforcement until a March 14 hearing. The delay is meant to give attorneys time to prepare for the case, Joe Serota, the attorney representing Miami Beach in the suit, told The Real Deal.
Grutman opened Story in 2012, although the building has long been a nightclub, previously called Opium Garden and then Amnesia. Story is a sister venue to the famous LIV nightclub at Soffer’s Fontainebleau Miami Beach.
Soffer, through his Aventura-based Fontainebleau Development, also owns the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa and developed Turnberry Ocean Club Residences. Among his recent investments, he dropped $10.1 million last year for the North Miami marina at 13255 Biscayne Boulevard.
Also last year, he bought out all 40 units at the aging Regency Condominium at 250 Beach Road in Tequesta for $100 million, likely for redevelopment.
Soffer isn’t the only owner of a Miami Beach business to purchase a venue’s real estate. Last month, Joel Stedman bought the building at 1057 Washington Avenue, the site of his Twist gay nightclub, for $7.6 million.
