Miami Company Buys into Mixed-Use Portfolio

WAREN, GERMANY-Azur International Inc. of Miami has acquired a 50% interest in five properties here for $18.5 million in company stock. The purchase includes resort hotels, retail and office complexes, an apartment building, and waterfront property for a boutique resort hotel & casino development. Traded on the Pink Sheets but seeking an AMEX listing, Azur bills itself as an international hotel, resort and luxury residential development company. In March, the company changed its name from Hotyellow98.com, in connection with its acquisition of Mingo Bay Development Corp., a Florida-based luxury real estate development management company. A call to Azur to gain more detail on the properties purchased was not returned. In afternoon trading Monday, shares of Azur were trading at $4.70, off $0.20 on the day. Waren is in the Mecklenburg Lake District of Germany and is accessible via waterway from Berlin to Hamburg and the Baltic Sea. The acquisition represents Azur’s first foray into the boutique hotel business, an industry in which the company says it will make a “concerted effort to establish a strong and significant presence.” As part of the acquisition, the company formed Azur Europe GmbH, which owns the acquired interest, and Azur Hotels & Resorts GmbH.Last month, Azur said it would make an application for listing to the American Stock Exchange with hope of increasing the company’s visibility with institutional investors, as well as availability and access to other investors. The company currently has three condominium developments either planned or under development. In June, it announced detailed plans for a 12-townhouse waterfront development on Lake Santa Barbara in Pompano Beach, FL. Each home is designed as three-story homes in the old-world Mediterranean style, with a two-level rounded entrance tower and double entrance doors. Units will range from 2,900- to 4,100 sf with three bedrooms, two or three bathrooms, private elevator and a rooftop terrace. Asking prices average better than $1.2 million.In March and April, Azur announced two other small high-end residential projects, The Meritage and Place des Arts, both located on Hendricks Isle in Ft Lauderdale, FL. Development of The Meritage, located off Las Olas Boulevard between Ft. Lauderdale Beach and the Las Olas shopping district, was scheduled to get under way in June. The 16-unit development will consist of two five-story buildings, each with eight units selling for about $1 million apiece. The 10 units in the Place des Arts development will range in size from 3,500- to 4,400 sf, including a deeded boat slip that provides immediate access to the Florida state Intercoastal Waterway and can accommodate a 50′ boat. The price range for the units is $1.35- to $1.6 million. “We hope to capitalize on the increasing market value in the Fort Lauderdale area which has increased approximately 26% per year over the last three years, most notably the Las Olas area,” said Azur VP of operations Jeffrey Greene in a prepared statement. “The Las Olas area has become the ‘Beverly Hills’ of the East Coast and a playground for the rich and famous combining its wonderful climate with its upscale clothing stores, fine dining restaurants, outdoor cafes, nightclubs and office space. These homes, which represent the latest in urban living coupled with a waterfront lifestyle, are situated a block away from the Las Olas area shops and boulevard and less than a quarter of a mile from the ocean.”