The good times appear to be over at the Goodtime Hotel in Miami Beach, which counted famed music producer Pharrell Williams and Miami hospitality mogul David Grutman as partners, after the lender launched a $149.3 million foreclosure lawsuit.<\/p>\n
CIM Group<\/a> sued entities tied to the developer and owner of the 266-room property, Eric Birnbaum and Michael Fascitelli\u2019s Imperial Companies<\/a>, alleging that it stopped making interest payments in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n SEE ALSO: SL Green Secures $1.65B Refi for Historic NYC Office Tower<\/a><\/p>\n The 205,680-square-foot hotel at 601 Washington Avenue opened in 2021 to much fanfare thanks to its celebrity backing, with Kim Kardashian and David and Victoria Beckham attending the opening bash of the seven-story establishment. The property\u2019s day club, Strawberry Moon, hosted parties with chart-topping DJs.<\/p>\n In 2021, the L.A.-based lender supplied a $164 million refinancing loan, which was reduced to\u00a0 $152 million in 2023. Later that year, the parties entered into a forbearance agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, the complaint, filed in the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida, alleges the borrower failed to pay back the loan when it matured in 2024 and owes $149.3 million in principal as well as fees and interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n A representative for Williams and Grutman told the Miami Herald<\/a>, which first reported about the lawsuit, that they haven\u2019t been involved with the Goodtime Hotel since 2024. Both Brian Miller of King & Spalding, who represents the hotel\u2019s owners, and Jeffrey Gilbert of Greenspoon Marder, who represents the lender,did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the only lawsuit between CIM Group and Imperial Companies. Another foreclosure suit is underway in New York, where CIM is seeking to collect $10 million in personal guarantees from Fascitelli and Birnbaum, The Real Deal reported<\/a>. The hotel operators contend that their lawyer made a drafting mistake.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another lawsuit involves Link Hospitality, which sued the Goodtime Hotel\u2019s owners in Miami-Dade County, claiming it\u2019s owed just over $523,000 as part of staffing agreement. Birnbaum and Fascitelli have denied the allegation in subsequent filings.\u00a0<\/p>\n The hotel, billed as a catalyst for revitalizing a seedier and boarded-up stretch of Washington Avenue in South Beach, has struggled operationally.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2022, L.A.\u2019s popular Italian eatery Jon & Vinny\u2019s had signed<\/a> a lease to open its first Florida location on the ground floor, but backed out and eventually set up shop at the Rubell Museum. The Miami Beach Planning Board reviewed the hotel\u2019s conditional use permit in 2021 after some residents complained about the property\u2019s noise.\u00a0<\/p>\n