Ocean Drive's Park Central hotel, taken over by its lender, gets a new state liquor license

The Park Central hotel on Ocean Drive, which spent recent years as the Gabriel South Beach under owner CGI Merchant Group, is now owned by the company that foreclosed on its loan, and it received a new state liquor license this week.

Florida’s alcoholic beverage regulators issued a 4COP license, which allows beer, wine and liquor to be served on site, on Nov. 10 to Park Central Lender LLC for “Park Central South Beach” at 620-650 Ocean Drive, according to the state’s new-license file.

The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser lists Park Central Lender LLC as the owner of the hotel’s parcels at 620 and 626 Ocean Drive, with a transfer recorded Jan. 2, 2026. The 626 Ocean Drive parcel, built in 1930, holds the 140-unit hotel and has a 2027 assessed value of $29.1 million, the record shows.

Bisnow reported in July 2025 that Deutsche Bank had sold the hotel’s $71 million acquisition loan, with $69 million still unpaid, to Park Central Lender LLC, an entity controlled by Shadi Shomar, CEO of Arte Hospitality, which owns the Bentley Hotel South Beach at 510 Ocean Drive. The lender filed a foreclosure complaint, and CGI said it was working on a “smooth transfer of the property,” according to Bisnow. CGI bought the hotel in 2021 for $108 million.

The visitors bureau’s listing now calls the property Park Central South Beach, at 640 Ocean Drive, with 132 rooms and suites and a rooftop pool, and links to the hotel’s own website. The license and property records don’t say what changes, if any, the new owner plans for the hotel or its restaurants.