Nantucket Harbor. Photo courtesy of Bobak Ha'Eri / CC BY 2.5

Nantucket real estate development firm Blue Flag Partners has bought an iconic hotel in the heart of Nantucket’s downtown for $25.1 million, according to documents filed with the Nantucket Registry of Deeds, and plan to revamp the historic property.

The 58-room Roberts Collection includes four historic manor houses, the earliest dating to the 1840s, surrounding an expansive open-air courtyard. Centrally located on India Street in the heart of Nantucket’s Historic District, the hotel is in close proximity to the island’s many attractions including the ferry landing, and the shops, restaurants and bars that dot the island’s core.

“As Nantucket locals, we are honored for the opportunity to steward a prominent historic property like The Roberts Collection in the heart of downtown,” Blue Flag Cofounder Terry Sanford said in a statement.

Blue Flag is partnering with New York and Montreal-based vertically integrated hotel designer, developer and operator Life House to manage the hotel for the 2019 summer season and restore it for the spring 2020 season. In partnership with Blue Flag’s in-house development, branding and construction teams the firms are hoping to transform The Roberts Collection into a “lifestyle hotel” with multiple food and beverage concepts. The hotel will undergo a comprehensive renovation that reimagines all guestrooms, common areas, the lobby and additional components of the hotel’s indoor and outdoor public space. Historic elements of the property will be carefully restored or preserved during the renovation, with Life House honoring a responsive and contextual design rooted in respect for the historic property.

“We’re thrilled to be working with the Blue Flag team and The Roberts Collection is a tremendous opportunity for us to further demonstrate our advanced hotel operations platform while reimagining a beautifully historic hotel through a locally contextual lens,” Life House CEO and Founder Rami Zeidan said in a statement. “This will be our first of many projects in New England and we’re actively seeking opportunities to acquire, brand and operate other hotels in primary and secondary urban and resort markets throughout the region.”