Ashford Hospitality says it sold One Ocean hotel for $87 million

Duval County records listed the sale of the Atlantic Beach property at $48.6 million.


  • By Mark Basch
  • | 12:10 a.m. July 11, 2024
  • | 4 Free Articles Remaining!
The One Ocean Resort & Spa in Atlantic Beach was sold June 27. The buyer was a joint venture comprising Aspect Real Estate Group, Sage Hospitality Group, Corner Lot and Kelco Management and Development Inc.
The One Ocean Resort & Spa in Atlantic Beach was sold June 27. The buyer was a joint venture comprising Aspect Real Estate Group, Sage Hospitality Group, Corner Lot and Kelco Management and Development Inc.
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Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc. said it sold the One Ocean Resort & Spa in Atlantic Beach for $87 million in cash, well above the $48.62 million price listed in Duval County Clerk of Courts records.

Dallas-based Ashford announced the sale of the 193-room hotel in a June 27 news release that did not include the price.

However, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by publicly traded Ashford said it sold the property to a joint venture called ACS One Ocean Propco LLC for $87 million.

A June 27 deed recording the sale indicated the price was $48.62 million.

Representatives of Ashford did not respond to voicemail messages asking to clarify the difference in price.

A spokeswoman for Sage Hospitality Group, one of the four joint venture partners which bought the hotel, said by email the company is not sharing details on the price at this time.

Denver-based Sage is overseeing operations at One Ocean.

The hotel originally known as the Sea Turtle Inn was built in 1973, according to property records. The oceanfront hotel is at the end of Atlantic Boulevard.

The nine-story, 193-room One Ocean Resort & Spa was built in 1973. It was once known as the Sea Turtle Inn.
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Ashford bought the hotel for $23.05 million in 2004. The company, which says it focuses on upscale hotels, spent $24 million to upgrade the property in 2008, renaming it One Ocean.

The Duval County Property Appraiser’s office listed the market value of One Ocean at $37.8 million before the sale to ACS.

Ashford said in a July 2 SEC filing that it used $66.2 million in proceeds from the sale to pay off part of a mortgage loan that covered five hotels, including One Ocean.

That filing included financial details about One Ocean, showing Ashford was carrying the investment in the hotel on its balance sheet at a value of $14.49 million.

One Ocean produced $22.8 million in revenue last year, it said, consisting of $12.6 million in room revenue, $6.9 million from food and beverage and $3.3 million in other revenue.

The hotel produced operating income of $5.9 million for Ashford.

One Ocean generated $5.6 million in revenue in the first quarter of this year, and operating income of $1.57 million.

Ashford owned 90 hotels at the end of 2023 and had partnership interests in several others. Its total revenue for the year was $1.37 billion, with operating income of $130.4 million.

Ashford has one remaining Jacksonville property, a 119-room Hilton Garden Inn at 9745 Gate Parkway N. on the Southside.

The new ownership group of One Ocean said in a news release it is planning a significant renovation of the property in 2025.

 

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