Postcard Inn in St. Pete Beach sold to New York investors for $83 million

The Postcard Inn on the Beach, which became a trendy St. Pete Beach tourist destination and locals’ hangout after an extensive 2009 renovation, has sold for $83 million.

The buyers are real estate investment firm LCP Group and real estate and private equity firm Safanad, which closed on the purchase this week.

“Postcard Inn is located in a highly desirable destination market with one of the highest barriers to entry in all of the United States,” LCP Group CEO Francis lively said in a statement. “The hotel is an iconic asset with tremendous upside in a market primed for growth.”

The 9.6-acre, 196-room property at 6300 Gulf Blvd. has more than 300 feet of beach frontage, including a beach bar right off the sand. It also has a restaurant and lobby cafe.

What set the hotel apart, though, was its a retro-minded remodel that put it on the national map. Built in 1957, the former Travelodge was purchased by Starwood Capital Group in the mid-2000s and was originally slated to be torn down. Instead, it underwent $5 million in renovations in 2009, emerging to rave reviews as a new kind of beach destination. It was written up in the New York Times and Southern Living, and featured on the Today show. Celebrities like Andy Grammer and Molly Sims stopped by.

“Postcard Inn exhibits a rare combination of highly sought-after investment characteristics,” Safanad managing director Tim Fuzesi said in a statement. “Resilient historical cash flows coupled with upside value potential through incremental investment and market growth in an irreplaceable location on the St. Pete Beach beachfront.”

The hotel had most recently sold for $47.4 million in 2017.

Crescent Hotels and Resorts, which manages nine other properties around the state, including the Sarasota Modern in downtown Sarasota, will run the Postcard Inn.