Kolter Group to acquire Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront

The Kolter Group will acquire the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront hotel for $96 million in cash from Ashford Hospitality Trust. 

According to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of this year. The two companies entered into a purchase agreement Dec. 12. 

Kolter provided an initial earnest money deposit of $500,000. The company delivered a “Notice to Proceed” Feb. 20 – making the deposit non-refundable. 

Ashford acquired the Hilton in 2004 as part of a 21-property, $250 million portfolio deal with entities controlled by affiliates of the Fisher Brothers, the Gordon Getty Trust and George Soros.  

The property, which dates back to the 1970s, is across from the Dali Museum and Al Lang Stadium. According to Travel Weekly, the hotel has been a Hilton since the 1980s. 

In 2019, Ashford sold a 1.65-acre parking lot adjacent to the Hilton property to KT St. Pete Bayfront, LLC, an entity controlled by the Kolter Group, for a “total consideration of $17.5 million to be paid over time,” according to a prepared statement. 

Kolter built the Saltaire tower and a parking garage on the site. Following the opening of the condominium development, Ashford received ownership rights to 205 covered parking spaces for Hilton guests. 

The $250 million tower, which opened in August 2023, is 35-stories. 

The Delray Beach-based real estate development and investment firm company is also responsible for the ONE St. Petersburg and Art House St. Petersburg towers. It additionally worked on the Hyde Park House in Tampa and Bayso condos in Sarasota. 

ONE St. Petersburg was completed in 2019. Residents were able to start moving into the Art House in November. 

The Kolter Group is currently developing the Corey Landing project in St. Pete Beach. Approval was granted in November.