Land deal to yield five-star hotel. (Coconut Grove)

A less-than-luxurious block in Coconut Grove is slated to turn into five-star Ritz Carlton. The planned luxury hotel is the result of a land assemblage that took years of effort to close. And the complexity of the deal won it "best land deal" honors in the 1997 Real Estate Deals of the Year competition.

Since the early '80s, Tecton International broker Edie Laquer tried to find a buyer for the triangular-shaped block 27th and Tigertail avenues. But doing the deal meant aligning the interests of half a dozen sellers with a single buyer.

"It's just like juggling plates, and you hope they don't all fall," Laquer said. "I've tried to do it on several different …