MIAMI-An entity controlled by Glenn Straub, owner of the old Miami Arena and the Palm Beach Polo Golf and Country Club, bought a mortgage note on The Palm House hotel in Palm Beach for an undisclosed amount. Aztec Group Inc., a Miami-based real estate investment and banking firm, represented the seller, 111 Debt Acquisition Holdings.

The hotel faced a $22-million foreclosure judgment. Boaz Ashbel, managing director of the Aztec Group, coordinated the sale but declined to disclose the sale amount, citing confidentiality agreements.

The hotel was to be converted into a 79-unit condo-hotel. Ashbel says. Straub, an active real estate investor, is evaluating his options on what to do with the hotel.

"He is considering trying to finish the project himself or partner with someone to do it," Ashbel says. It would cost between $10 million to $15 million and take about a year to complete the hotel, he says.