Apr 25, 2017 - 0 Comments - Top Stories -

Miami Commercial Real Estate News April 25, 2017: Hyatt May Rebuild Downtown; More…

Hyatt may rebuild Miami hotel and convention center

Hyatt Hotels Corp. and the Miami city government are discussing a deal to redevelop the company’s Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Miami and the adjacent James L. Knight Center convention complex. The hotel and convention center opened on the north bank of the Miami River in 1982. Terms of a potential redevelopment plan would give Hyatt 12 months to produce a master plan for construction of a new hotel with meeting space, plus a mixed-use project, at the 4.5-acre site at 400 Southeast 2 Avenue.

Alta acquires assemblage near Dadeland Mall for $14.4M

Miami-based Alta Developers this month paid $14.4 million for an assemblage of land on South Dixie Highway near Dadeland Mall for a mixed-use development with 400-plus apartments. Alta, led by principal Henry Pino, paid $11 million for a 1.45-acre industrial site at 9600 South Dixie Highway. The seller was WLPW2 LLC, managed by Wendy L. Whitmire. Alta bought two other parcels for the assemblage. The company paid $2 million for a site measuring 6,250 square feet at 9514 South Dixie Highway. The seller…

Inside CMX Movie Theater, Brickell City Centre’s New “VIP Cinema Experience”

Down the street from the bums on Brickell and around the corner from Blackbird Ordinary, there is a gleaming, chrome and concrete monolith poised to transform one of the more blighted and ignored areas of downtown. Brickell City Centre, a luxurious, open-air shopping center, opened in November of last year, but is still taking its final shape. Recently, BCC unveiled its latest crown jewel: CMX – the VIP cinema experience. It’s a concept familiar to anyone who’s frequented an upscale movie theater. Other worthwhile…

Avesta Communities Snags $95 Million In Loans For Miami Multifamily Buy

Avesta Communities, a real estate company that focuses on properties in Texas and Florida, secured $94.7 million in loans for its purchase of a North Miami multifamily property, commercial real estate lender Walker & Dunlop Inc. said in a Friday statement. The first loan was short-term, six-month bridge financing worth $48.4 million. Walker & Dunlop then transitioned that loan into a permanent Freddie Mac floating-rate loan worth $46.3 million, according to the statement. It was not immediately clear when Avesta…

The rise and fall of the mall that changed Miami

Forty years ago, a mall opened for business in Miami. But it wasn’t just any mall. This one had a carousel. A multiplex movie theater. A bakery with killer cinnamon bread. A hotel. The mall gave workers in downtown Miami somewhere to spend their lunch hour. It gave kids in Miami Beach, Little Havana and Overtown somewhere cool to hang out. The Omni International Mall opened on Biscayne Boulevard at 14th and 15th streets in February 1977 on the site of the old Jordan Marsh department store, which was melded into…

Construction of American Dream Miami may not be completed for another five years

Speaking to a Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce crowd, an American Dream Miami consultant said construction on the massive theme-park-oriented mall may not be completed until 2022, when all roads and expressway interchanges into the development have been finished. In the meantime, fostering more development around public transit hubs is the key ingredient in creating the kind of critical mass that will transform Miami into a true urban center, according to a panel of downtown and Brickell evelopers.

Bridge Completes $80 Million Sale To Duke For 700,000 SF Of Industrial Assets

Bridge Development Partners, one of South Florida’s most active industrial real estate developers, today announced the disposition of three Class-A, industrial buildings totaling 676,835 square feet—Bridge Point Crossroads East and South located in Hialeah Gardens. CBRE’s Capital Markets team including Chris Riley, Vice Chairman in Atlanta; Christian Lee, Vice Chairman in Miami; and José Antonio Lobón, Senior Vice President in Miami represented Bridge Development in the sale to Duke Realty Corp.

American Dream Miami Construction May Not Begin For Another 8 Years

Speaking to a Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce crowd, an American Dream Miami consultant said construction on the massive theme-park-oriented mall may not begin until 2025, three years after all roads and expressway interchanges into the development have been completed. In the meantime, fostering more development around public transit hubs is the key ingredient in creating the kind of critical mass that will transform Miami into a true urban center, according to a panel of downtown and Brickell developers.

Tour Brickell’s new CMX movie theater

Located in Brickell City Centre and now open for business CMX has opened its VIP cinema experience in Brickell, bringing 10 screens and two bars to a 35,759-square-foot space in Brickell City Centre. The state-of-the-art cinema features all-laser theaters and cutting-edge audio technology from Meyer Sound Laboratories, including one Dolby Atmos room, the crown jewel viewing room within the complex due to the rich audio traveling from all directions of the room. This is the first CMX theater in…

Miami’s historic Biltmore Hotel to undergo lobby renovation

A collaboration between D’Shakil Designs and Studio 5 Design + Architecture Step inside Miami’s historic Biltmore Hotel this summer and you’ll notice some enhancements to its already distinct main lobby, as the landmark hotel in Coral Gables has announced D-Shakil Designs and Studio 5 Design + Architecture are collaborating on a redesign. The renovation is expected to conclude this July and will include new materials, drapery, and furniture in an effort to modernize the 91-year-old hotel…

Richman breaks ground on Edgewater rentals with $59M loan

Multifamily developer the Richman Group just broke ground on an apartment building in Edgewater with a nearly $58.6 million construction loan, property records show. Bank of America provided the financing to Richman affiliate Biscayne Apartments LLC for Biscayne 27. The 330-unit building will feature a sixth-floor amenity deck, about 9,600 square feet of retail on the ground floor, a parking garage, courtyard, pool and spa, according to a notice of commencement filed…

Miami Hotel Tour: The redesigned Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne

The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami has unveiled a multi-phase renovation which includes redesigns of the lobby, all 450 guest rooms, and a new signature restaurant called Lightkeepers under Executive Chef Raul A. Del Pozo. The “re-imagination,” in the words of the hotel, is inspired by “Florida’s ocean hues and the effervescent spirit of the Caribbean.” Spearheading the upgrading of the beachfront resort’s rooms is Wimberly Interiors, which utilized subtle blues and grays, “with pops of green.” New room…

CMC Group Lands $236 Million Loan for Miami Luxury Condo Project

Miami-based CMC Group has secured mezzanine and senior loan financing totaling $236 million to completion development of Brickell Flatiron, a 64-story luxury residential condominium tower in Miami’s Brickell financial district. The 549-unit project under construction at 1001 South Miami Ave. across from The Shops at Mary Brickell Village and near Brickell City Centre received a $138.3 million senior loan and a $97.97 million mezzanine loan, with…

Lloyd Jones Capital Appoints New, Miami Based, Operations Group President, COO

Holly Costello has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Lloyd Jones Capital’s operations group. Based in the firm’s Miami, FL office, Costello will manage the firm’s Florida, Texas and South Carolina offices. She joins Lloyd Jones Capital’s executive and investment committees. Costello has been in the multifamily real estate industry for more than 25 years, working with CPM Services, Balfour Beatty and Walden Residential…

Jones Joins Monument Real Estate Services Mgmt

Monument Real Estate Services (MRES) hired Lesly Jones as its vice president of marketing and leasing with Monument Capital & Asset Management in Miami, FL. In her new role, Jones will oversee and develop marketing services in support of the company’s multifamily portfolio. Prior to joining Monument, Jones was responsible for regional property management with Pegasus Residential. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Jones also worked…

Whalen Joins NorthMarq Capital

Paul Whalen has joined NorthMarq Capital, a leader in financing commercial real estate in the U.S., as a vice president in the firm’s Miami Lakes, FL office. In his new role, Whalen will deploy the full range of investor capital on behalf of clients, including fixed rate first mortgages, subordinate debt, equity and other financial products. Whalen brings more than 37 years of industry experience, most recently serviung as the managing director…

Sale of Miami-Dade industrial buildings worth over $60 million

Commercial real estate transactions of any kind can be complex and involve a number of negotiations during the process. A high-end real estate company based in Boston, TA-Realty, was involved in a transaction that could mean major changes to the Miami-Dade commercial real estate scene. Realty Associates Fund IX, part of TA-Realty, recently sold 45 properties to real estate funds belonging to Brookfield Property Group based out of New York as part of a national portfolio deal worth $854.5 million…

The old mall is dead and Florida’s largest retail developments are showing what comes next

When Victor Gruen designed the first contemporary American malls in the mid-1950s, he changed the changed the way Americans shopped. Much to his chagrin, however, what malls would become over the next 50 years would be far from the civic social suburban spaces that he had envisioned. He would eventually distance himself from the typology. Today, malls, as a typology, are going through major change. Whether due to a changing economy or a changing customer base, malls—as 1990s mall rats knew them…

Miami Industrial Real Estate Market Report First Quarter 2017

The new year starts off with a slightly lower average lease rate of $9.54 per sq. ft. and a higher vacancy rate to 3.9%. The positive absorption was a mediocre 602,988 sq. ft. The most significant disposition so far this year was TA Associates’ sale of seven warehouses totaling 550,000 sq. ft. to Brookfield Asset Management for $60M. The largest lease transaction was a renewal by Bel USA of 342,750 sq. ft. in Medley Logistics Park worth an estimated value of $30M. While most of the…

Southcoast Simulation Lands in Miami Warehouse

Southcoast Simulation, Inc. has recently moved into its brand new 17,000 sq. ft. class A warehouse space at South Florida Logistics Center located at 3200 NW 67 Avenue in Miami, Florida. Southcoast is based in Montreal, Canada and specializes in Visual System Technical Support for flight simulators originally produced in England and Canada. “Southcoast employees offer years of  highly experienced systems engineering and program…