A GENCOM-LED JOINT venture recently secured a $300 million debt facility to refinance existing debt and fund renovations at The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne in Miami. Key Bay Club LLLP, an affiliate of Fortune International Group, contributed the Grand Bay Club to the JV as part of the financing deal.
The partnership will combine the hotel and beach club sites into a 22-acre masterplan with more than 1,200 linear feet of beach frontage, the companies said in a statement.
“The partnership with the Grand Bay Club is a strategic opportunity aligned with the enhancements currently underway at the hotel,” said Karim Alibhai, founder and principal of Gencom. “It reaffirms our longstanding investment in the community and will further cement Key Biscayne’s standing as one of South Florida’s most coveted beachfront destinations.”
Miami-based Gencom co-developed The Ritz-Carlton nearly 25 years ago.
Gencom and Key Bay Club closed the JV through an all-shares transaction, giving Key Bay Club ownership interest in both the hotel and beach club properties.
The improvement plan will update the hotel’s exterior façade, lobby, guestrooms, public spaces, six dining venues, spa, pool areas, fitness center, Club Lounge and the Cliff Drysdale Tennis Center, the statement said. The Grand Bay Club will also undergo a full renovation starting in 2026, with completion expected the following summer.
Edgardo Defortuna, founder of Fortune International Group, said merging the two assets is a win-win, as their combined value exceeds the individual parts.
“Being able to own a property with more than 1,200 feet of oceanfront is unique in the South Florida market,” he said.
Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies led the financing consortium.
Gencom presently manages nearly $8 billion in assets, including 23 owned properties with more than 7,000 rooms worldwide. Through affiliates Pyramid Global Hospitality and Convene, it oversees more than 240 properties across 40 locations, totaling 50,000 keys and more than 2 million square feet of meeting, event and flexible office space.
It recently acquired The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans and Courtyard New Orleans French Quarter/Iberville, a 758-key portfolio in New Orleans’ French Quarter, Louisiana.
Red Roof President Zack Gharib, far right, participates in a panel discussion at AAHOA’s 2025 Convention and Trade Show.
