The historic Tides Hotel on Ocean Drive is preparing to welcome guests for the first time in nine years, with its new owner planning a November reopening after a multimillion-dollar renovation and a lengthy foreclosure battle.

Safe Harbor Capital Partners plans to reopen the 45-room, 13-story Art Deco landmark at 1220 Ocean Drive, which has remained closed since Hurricane Irma damaged the property in 2017, The Real Deal reported Friday, Oct. 9.

The company acquired the property through a foreclosure auction in March after its previous owners, New York-based Chetrit Group, defaulted on a mortgage.

Safe Harbor secured a $44 million loan from Maxim Credit Group for the hotel and adjacent Collins Avenue properties, with a portion of the financing going toward renovations.

The company is in talks with hotel operators and chefs to develop the hotel’s dining program but has not announced any partners.

A Safe Harbor spokesperson told The Real Deal the firm would consider selling at the right price but has the financial backing to retain the property and complete its renovation.

Foreclosure battle led to ownership change

Chetrit Group, led by Joseph and Meyer Chetrit, purchased the Tides in 2011 and obtained a $45 million mortgage from Ocean Bank in 2014.

After Hurricane Irma damaged the property in 2017, a dispute developed over insurance proceeds and the owners' mortgage obligations.

The loan matured in December 2020 without being repaid. Ocean Bank sold the mortgage to Safe Harbor Equity in January 2021, and the lender subsequently filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Chetrit affiliates in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

The lawsuit alleged the borrowers deposited a $2 million insurance check without the bank's authorization and transferred $1.2 million of the proceeds to Chetrit principals.

Chetrit's attorney disputed allegations that the insurance proceeds had been misused, maintaining that the money and additional funds went toward repairing hurricane damage and improving the property.

Following years of litigation, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Thomas Rebull issued a $95.6 million foreclosure judgment in January 2026, reflecting unpaid mortgage debt, accumulated interest and other adjustments.

Chetrit appealed the judgment and sought to halt the foreclosure auction but did not post the approximately $53 million bond required to pause the sale.

The auction proceeded March 9, with Safe Harbor acquiring the property through a credit bid. Bisnow reported that the auction lasted approximately one minute and ended with a recorded bid of $10,300.

The bid did not represent the property's full market value because the lender was able to apply debt owed to it toward the purchase.

Chetrit continued to challenge the foreclosure judgment. Attorney Dennis Richard told Bisnow in March that the appeal was proceeding.

A landmark of Miami Beach's Art Deco era

Designed by architect L. Murray Dixon and completed in 1936, the Tides became one of Ocean Drive's distinctive Art Deco landmarks.

The hotel underwent a major renovation in 1997 that reduced its original 115 rooms to 45 larger accommodations.

By 2006, the property featured seven junior suites and three penthouses, according to Hotel Business.

The property also underwent renovations in 2008, updating guest rooms and common areas.

Its planned reopening would return a prominent historic property to Miami Beach's hospitality market after nearly a decade of vacancy.

Safe Harbor has not announced a specific November opening date or confirmed when guests will be able to make reservations.