Electra America Hospitality Group (EAHG) recently acquired a new property in downtown West Palm Beach that will be transformed into an upscale hotel residence. The 217-key, AKA West Palm, will cater to short and long-stay guests once it opens this summer to become the second Florida property for the AKA brand.
One block from the Intracoastal Waterway, the hotel residence is a joint venture between Electra America and AKA, which purchased the newly built, six-story building at 695 S. Olive Avenue for $84 million from the developer Transwestern Development Company. It is conveniently located within walking distance of historic Clematis Street, the Brightline West Palm Beach train station, numerous restaurants and nightclubs, Palm Beach Atlantic University, several Class A office towers, including Esperante Corporate Center and the new One Flagler.
The AKA West Palm will feature luxuriously appointed suites and residences and 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail directly on S. Olive Avenue. It will also offer an indoor/outdoor lounge and bar accessible from the resort-like pool and deck, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a sizeable conference room and smaller conference nooks, a pet spa and a private residence lounge space for AKA members.
“As we continue to remain committed to finding exceptional assets in well-located markets, this downtown West Palm Beach property presented us with an opportunity to create a high-quality suite hotel for this high-growth market,” Russ Urban says, CEO of EAHG. “It’s a beautifully designed property in the heart of the central business district, and with the recent migration of several large financial and tech firms from New York to Palm Beach, combined with an uptick in drive-to leisure travel, we are confident AKA West Palm will have a great demand for accommodations.”
The new hotel residence will feature studio, one and two-bedroom layouts ranging from 351 square feet to over 840 square feet. Designed initially as micro-apartments, all suites and residences will have a kitchen or kitchenette to cater to longer-stay guests.
“This property truly complements the spirit of AKA and allows us to reimagine it into a hybrid of boutique hotel and serviced residence, the core of our brand,” Larry Korman says, president of AKA. “It offers sleek design finishes and experiential amenities and is in one of the most sought-after cities globally. As AKA’s offering resonates anew with today’s traveler, the city of West Palm Beach is also experiencing a major renaissance with new development, hotels and restaurants continuing to be on the rise. We are confident this property will add a new energy to our brand and look forward to opening our second property for the Florida market, alongside Electra America.”
This marks EAHG’s fourth acquisition since the joint venture launched in early 2021 to acquire and reimagine transient hotels in gateway cities and AKA’s debut in Palm Beach. In 2021, EAHG purchased an iconic, 201-room property in Miami, which is now Hotel AKA Brickell. AKA specializes in accommodations designed for more extended stays with exceptional business, wellness and lifestyle amenities in well-known neighborhoods. It operates 10 hotels and hotel residences in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and London.
