Moishe Mana expands downtown Miami assemblage with $12 million purchase

Downtown Miami’s largest private property owner is still adding to his assemblage. Mana, who has envisioned transforming his real estate into the Mana Common tech and cultural hub, bought the half-acre parking lot at 49 Northwest First Street for $12.4 million, according to a news release. Miami Beach investor Andrew Mirmelli, manager of M&M Parking, sold…

Witkoff, Monroe pay $94 million for site of canceled Marriott hotel at Miami Worldcenter

New York-based Witkoff and a partner swooped in to buy the site of MDM Group’s long-hyped — but now-canceled — Marriott Marquis Miami Worldcenter Hotel for $94 million. Witkoff, led by Chair and CEO Steven Witkoff, and Chicago-based Monroe Capital bought the 4.7-acre site at 700 North Miami Avenue, according to a news release. It is not yet clear…

Chart: Miami-Dade Commercial Property Estimated Turnover 2016 to 2020

The question comes up as to how frequent a commercial property trades in the Miami area. Many take a guess at this, but which I’ve never heard of anyone else really making an effort to truly quantify it. I’ve taken a swing at it here. The Methodology. The value of what trades as a percentage as the numerator (selling prices) is not disclosed for many trades and in any…

Brazil’s Biggest Homebuilder Expanding Quickly In U.S. Multifamily

The biggest homebuilder in Brazil has entered the U.S. multifamily market and is expanding quickly through a South Florida developer and landlord. Miami-based AHS Residential controls and operates 11 communities and over 2,500 apartment units in Florida. In South Florida specifically, AHS Residential has five new apartment communities…

Related Group Seals $73 Million Loan From Cerberus for Wynwood 29 Project

The Related Group has locked in $72.8 million in construction debt from Cerberus Capital Management for a planned mixed-use residential and retail development, Wynwood 29, in the Wynwood section of Miami, Commercial Observer has learned. The financing will allow Related and its partner Metro 1, a Miami-based real estate firm with a history in…

“The Cult of We” review: “Emperor’s New Clothes” of the Silicon Valley age

Jamie Dimon, billionaire banker, adviser to presidents, leonine master of the financial universe, had FOMO. Mohammed bin Salman, the brash upstart who had come out on top in a ruthless Game of Thobes at the House of Saud, was eager to announce his primacy on the world stage. Masayoshi Son, whose early bet on Alibaba had made him one of the world’s…

Here’s what tenants pay at Downtown Miami’s Citigroup Center

The following is a preview of one of the hundreds of data sets that will be available on TRD Pro – the one stop… The priciest Miami office tower to trade hands in the past two years is a bit of a fixer-upper. As of March, the 810,000-square-foot Citigroup Center at 201 S Biscayne Boulevard in Downtown Miami was only 62 percent leased….

Pandemic fueled record business openings wave in Miami

The Covid-19 pandemic fueled the greatest wave of business openings in Miami-Dade County history, a new report from the US Census Bureau reveals. As the pandemic developed last year, the number of new business applications in the county rose nearly 25% above the level of 2019, which was the record at that time for Miami, a community that has…

Downtown Miami Office Vacancy at 24% in Q2, Up Slightly From Q1

Vacancy rates for office and retail properties remain high, but brokers and businesses are betting on a booming Miami market for business transplants. Direct vacancy for Downtown Miami office buildings was at 23 percent on average in the second quarter, according to a report from Colliers. Vacancies for all Miami-Dade County office properties stood…

Miami may forgive millions in Jungle Island debt

The Miami City Commission plans to consider amending a development agreement with ESJ JI Leasehold LLC to pay a portion of a loan given by the city to the original lessee for construction and operation of a hotel at Jungle Island on Watson Island in exchange for the project being completed by 2026. That would require ESJ to show a certificate of occupancy for…

Venetian, Rickenbacker Causeway redevelopment sought

Miami-Dade County received an unsolicited proposal from a consortium of firms, identified as the Plan Z Consortium, for a project to improve the Venetian and Rickenbacker causeways and Bear Cut Bridge. Now, county commissioners are today (7/8) to discuss the proposal and authorize the mayor to open a solicitation to others for the same project purpose. 

Research Points To E-Commerce-Driven Need For Another 330 Million Square Feet By 2025

Even though the most-dire days of the COVID-19 pandemic may be in the past, that, by no means, has pumped the brakes on the frenetic pace of e-commerce activity, driven by the steady drum beat of consumer demand. That was evident in the findings of a report recently issued by Los Angeles-based industrial real estate […]…

Restaurant aid runs dry, leaving most applicants with nothing

The federal pandemic relief fund for struggling restaurants fell short, helping less than a third of eateries that sought assistance. The $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which was established as part of the federal $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, closed on Wednesday because it ran out of money, the New York Times reported.

CP Group Acquires One Biscayne Tower in Downtown Miami for $225M

CP Group, formerly Crocker Partners, has acquired One Biscayne Tower, a 38-story office tower in downtown Miami, in a joint venture with funds managed by Rialto Capital Management and Sabal Capital Partners. Dow Chemical sold the asset for $225 million, according to the Daily Miami News. L&B Realty has managed One Biscayne Tower on behalf of Dow…

CP Group JV Buys 1 Million Square Feet Miami Tower

A joint venture of CP Group, formerly known as Crocker Partners, along with funds managed by Rialto Capital Management and Sabal Capital Partners, has acquired the downtown Miami office building One Biscayne Tower, CP Group announced. The purchase price was $225 million, according to The Real Deal, which first reported the purchase. The…

$4.8M Sale of Coral Way Medical Office Property Brokered

Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $4.8 million sale of a three-story, 15,250-square-foot medical office property located at 1790 Coral Way in Miami. Douglas Mandel and Adam Klein of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller. Miami-based L2 Partners, a limited liability company, was the seller. The seller will occupy about 30 percent of the building. The…

Edgewater’s Bay Park Condo Towers in $130M Bulk Buyout Deal

If Beach Hill Capital Partners has their way, Edgewater will be seeing another luxury, waterfront condo tower be built. The Miami-based investment firm has offered $130 million to buy out the 1960s waterfront condo complex at 3301 NE 5th Avenue. The 14-story, 254-unit building was built in 1961 and has one of the largest surface parking lots in…

Chetrit’s lender alleges it stole $2M insurance payout for South Beach hotel damage

Chetrit Group’s new lender alleges that the New York real estate firm stole $2 million in insurance money tied to damages at the long-shuttered Tides South Beach hotel at 1220 Ocean Drive, court filings show. The latest allegations are part of a $45 million foreclosure lawsuit filed earlier this year by Safe Harbor Equity affiliate SHEDDF3 VNB LLC against CG Tides…

Lumber prices are splintering, futures drop 40% in June

Someone yell timber. June was the worst month on record for the lumber futures as prices for the homebuilding commodity are falling fast after an unprecedented run-up. The lumber bubble has finally popped because demand eased and supply grew, CNBC reported. Lumber futures tanked by more than 40 percent in June, the biggest monthly drop in data kept…

Zom wants to sell two South Florida apartment buildings for nearly $500M

Zom Living CEO Greg West with the properties Apartment developer Zom is ready to part ways with two high-end rental projects it recently completed. The company hopes that the South Florida properties will sell for more than $460 million… Orlando-based Zom listed the 438-unit, 50-story Solitair tower at 86 Southwest Eighth Street in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood…

Ronny Finvarb buys Deerfield Beach mixed-use property for $9M

Real estate investor Ronny Finvarb bought another property in Deerfield Beach. Finvarb, through his Sandcastle 1 affiliate, bought the office-retail building with restaurants at 233-249 Northeast 21st Avenue for $9.3 million, he said. The seller is Atlantic Pavilion, managed by James Nizzo and Ellen Spiros, according to corporate records. The three-story, 51,662-square…

FBE buys Lauderhill apartment complex for $95M

FBE Limited bought a Lauderhill apartment complex for $94.6 million. Records show 4200 Cypress Owner, tied to New York-based FBE, bought the complex at 4200 Northwest 19th Street from an affiliate of Code Capital Partners, also based in New York. The buyer took out an $80.4 million loan from MF1 Capital to finance the purchase. The 814-unit complex was…

Crow Holdings buys Delray Beach apartments for $112M

Dallas-based Crow Holdings bought a Delray Beach apartment complex for $111.75 million, marking one of the highest-priced multifamily deals in South Florida this year. Records show a limited partnership of CH Realty IX/MF Boca Raton Congress, in the care of Crow Holdings, bought the 369-unit Alta Congress at 250 Congress Park Drive. The deal breaks down…

Pebb Enterprises buys Boca Raton office building for $18M

Real estate investment firm Pebb Enterprises bought a Boca Raton office building for $18.4 million in an off-market deal, The Real Deal has learned. Boca Raton-based Pebb, led by president and CEO Ian Weiner, purchased the building at 1801 North Military Trail, according to a press release. Property records show the seller is North Circular Boca Raton LP. 

Tricera Capital, partners buy West Palm Beach office tower for $61M

Tricera Capital and three other partners bought One Clearlake office tower in West Palm Beach for $60.7 million. Tricera, NDT Development, New England Development and Rockpoint Group purchased the property at 250 South Australian Avenue, according to a news release. The seller, a joint venture between Dallas-based private equity real estate fund manager…

Surfside condo “a time bomb:” Survivor’s lawsuit cites falling concrete, cracks and standing seawater in garage

Raysa Rodriguez recounts a harrowing escape from her unit at the collapsed Surfside condominium, and lays out mounting warning signs in a newly filed lawsuit. Among them: a concrete chunk that had fallen from the garage ceiling and a “wide crack” above her parking space. In her suit, which seeks class action status, Rodriguez also cites flooding in the…

Champlain Towers South carried a $5M policy, insurers gear up for legal claims

As lawsuits mount against the Champlain Towers South condominium association, the building’s and unit owners’ insurers will play key roles in footing the bill for any payouts arising from legal claims, according to local property insurance experts. Since the deadliest building catastrophe in South Florida history last Thursday, three residents have filed lawsuits…

Fire Official Says Six Floors of Surfside Condo Are Believed to Be Underground

The giant pile of debris in Surfside rises more than two stories above the earth and has proven to be a huge challenge for teams searching for victims of the Champlain Towers South building collapse. But that’s only what can be seen. Officials believe there is nearly as much of the building below ground level. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Ray Jadallah said…

State attorney’s office plans grand jury investigation into cause of Surfside collapse

State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle will empanel a grand jury investigation to determine the cause of the fatal condo collapse in Surfside, as President Joe Biden plans a visit to the site. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced on Tuesday that Fernandez Rundle will ask a grand jury to look into the partial Champlain Towers South…

Surfside condo president’s April letter warned of more repairs required

The condo board sent a letter to unit owners of the Champlain Towers South in April cautioning the importance of major repairs, mere months before the oceanfront portion of the Surfside condo tower collapsed, trapping more than 150 people. The letter, signed by condo board president Jean Wodnicki, detailed extensive work the Champlain Towers South…

Dire Warnings Arose In Months Before Miami-Area Condo Tower Collapse

Although the images produced by the collapse of the Champlain Towers South complex in the Miami suburb of Surfside were shocking, the collapse itself wasn’t out of the blue. The president of the building’s condo association sent a letter to residents in April asking them to contribute for $15M in assessed repairs to the tower’s concrete structure, The Wall…

County, cities rush to inspect older buildings in wake of Surfside collapse

Miami-Dade County, Miami and Miami Beach are reviewing older buildings in the wake of the Surfside condo collapse that left residents concerned for their safety. Champlain Towers South, a 12-story, 136-unit oceanfront condo, partially collapsed last week, killing at least 11 people and trapping more than 150. The building was in the midst…

Emails, condo meeting minutes show Surfside official turned a blind eye to structural issues

An ex-Surfside building official who was emailed a report about the Champlain Towers’ structural damage told residents the building was in good condition in 2018. Residents of the collapsed Surfside condominium were told in 2018 that their building was in good condition. The town’s main building official at that time offered them the assurance even…

Engineer raised red flags more than 2 years before Surfside condo collapsed

A 2018 report raised major red flags about the structural integrity of the Champlain Towers South, the Surfside condo building that partially collapsed this week, killing at least five and trapping another 156. The engineer tasked to survey the building for its 40-year recertification found “abundant concrete cracking and spalling” as well as failed…

Details emerge in search for cause of fatal Surfside condo collapse

In the search for a cause of the Surfside condo collapse, more details are emerging about re-construction work needed at the building, as 159 remain missing and four are confirmed dead. Champlain Towers South’s condo association had put out bids for concrete restoration work, as part of the required 40-year recertification, the association’s lawyer, Donna…

159 still missing: Surfside rescue mission frustrates condo victims’ loved ones

As heavy rains complicated the search and rescue operation for possible survivors of the Champlain Towers South collapse, family and friends of people believed to be trapped beneath the rubble stood by at a reunification site in Surfside on Thursday. Maurice Waxman, whose friend Harry Rosenberg is among the 159 people still missing, said…

Photos: Devastation at Champlain Tower South

Police tape blocks access to the partially collapsed Champlain Tower South in Surfside on June 24. As of Friday, four people were confirmed dead and 159 missing at the 12-story building. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) Police stand guard near the badly damaged building. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) Rubble hangs from…

‘Walls Were Crumbling’ At 12-Story Florida Condo Building Before Deadly Collapse

A 12-story beachfront condominium building in Surfside, Florida, just north of Miami Beach, collapsed around 2 a.m. Thursday, killing at least one and leaving dozens more unaccounted for. The Champlain Towers South Condo building has 130 units and was completed in 1981, according to the Miami Herald. A massive search and rescue operation is underway after…

First lawsuit filed in deadly Surfside condo collapse

The first known lawsuit has been filed in the aftermath of the Surfside condominium building collapse that left 159 missing and at least four dead. Unit owner and resident Manuel Drezner sued the Champlain Tower South Condominium Association, seeking class action status and more than $5 million in damages. Drezner, who owns unit 1009…

After Miami Collapse: How to Prevent the Unthinkable

The deadly partial collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Fla., has left multifamily property owners and operators with many questions: How could this have happened? How can it be prevented from occurring again? What role may climate change play in placing buildings like this one in jeopardy? Jonathan Weislow, vice…

Miami CRE On What Condo Collapse Means For The Market

People in South Florida commercial real estate are saddened, confused and concerned about the collapse of Champlain Tower South in Surfside. “Our community, and the entire nation, is in shock and grieving over the collapse,” said Mike Pappas, president and CEO of The Keyes Co./Illustrated Properties. They are also thinking ahead to how the collapse is likely…

Supreme Court declines to lift CDC eviction ban

The CDC-imposed federal eviction moratorium will live on — at least for another month. In a 5-to-4 ruling late Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected an emergency request to vacate the ban, which President Joe Biden extended last week for a fourth and likely final time. It is set to expire July 31. Opponents of the ban, including the Alabama Association of…

JV buys One Biscayne Tower in downtown Miami for $225M

A joint venture paid $225 million for One Biscayne Tower, an office building in downtown Miami, The Real Deal has learned. CP Group, which until recently was called Crocker Partners, along with funds managed by Rialto Capital Management and Sabal Capital Partners, bought the high-rise at 2 South Biscayne Boulevard, according to a news release. The seller was…

JV Acquires Downtown Miami Office Tower

A joint venture of CP Group, formerly known as Crocker Partners, along with funds managed by Rialto Capital Management and Sabal Capital Partners has acquired the downtown Miami office building One Biscayne Tower, CP Group announced. The purchase price was $225 million, according to The Real Deal, which first reported the purchase. The…

Developer Jeff Berkowitz cancels plans for SkyRise Miami observation tower

Rendering of SkyRise Miami and Jeff Berkowitz SkyRise Miami, the controversial tie clip-shaped observation tower that has been in the works for roughly a decade, will no longer be built. Developer Jeff Berkowitz canceled plans for the downtown Miami tower, expected to rise 1,000 feet next to Bayside Marketplace, according to the Next Miami. The…

Partnership Breaks Ground on 224-Unit Wynwood Haus Apartments in Miami

A partnership between TSG, Lineaire Group and Bridge Investment Group has broken ground on Wynwood Haus, a 224-unit multifamily property located at 1765 N Miami Avenue in the Wynwood submarket of Miami. The project is slated for completion by the first quarter of 2023. Wynwood Haus will be a 20-story project and will include studio, one- and two…

Swerdlow Group Breaks Ground on $300M Sawyer’s Walk Mixed-Use Development in Miami

Swerdlow Group has broken ground on Sawyer’s Walk, a 1.4 million-square-foot mixed-use development in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood that will include 250,000 square feet of retail space below 578 apartments designated for low-income seniors. Swerdlow Group is collaborating with the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment…

Opening of Jackson West in Doral finally firm

Jackson West Medical Center will open its doors to patients Aug. 2, while staff will be in the building starting July 12 according to CEO Eddie Borrego. The opening of the facility, which Mr. Borrego said will be the first acute-care hospital in Doral, has been delayed several times.  In 2019, Miami Today reported, Jackson Health System announced its plan to open…

Wix Is ​​Actively Seeking To Double Its Office Space In Miami – Commercial Observer

Wix, a leading web development company, is looking to expand its presence in Miami, Commercial Observer has learned. The technology company is currently based in The Lincoln, a mixed-use Class A building one block from South Beach’s famous one Lincoln Road, covering an area of ​​approximately 25,000 square meters. Wix aims to expand and…

Monarch Alternative Capital Acquires Majority Interest in Miami’s Citigroup Center

Monarch Alternative Capital LP, a leading investment firm with approximately $9 billion of assets under management, today announced that it has acquired a majority interest in the Citigroup Center office building located at 201 S Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami. The Citigroup Center purchase is Monarch’s fifth office building investment…

UBS Group going hybrid as workers return

Not every bank is giving love to office landlords: UBS Group AG plans to deploy a hybrid work model. The Swiss multinational investment bank said about two-thirds of its employees will have flexibility to work at home for part of the week after they return to their workplace, according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News. The date for a return…

Driveshack at Wynwood Walk, GoPuff in Coral Gables, other notable leases inked

Driveshack chose Wynwood Walk as its first Florida location. The entertainment and golf simulator concept signed a 10-year lease for 17,616 square feet at Wynwood Walk, a Thor Equities property. Michael Sullivan from Koniver Stern Group, and Jeremy Zidell and Tripp Russ from Rue represented Driveshack. It’s expected to open next year. State…

Trouble in EB-5 land: Congress at impasse on extension

Last week was a roller coaster for the cash-for-visas EB-5 program. Its backers celebrated Tuesday when a federal judge struck down a Trump administration rule that experts say nearly killed the program. The judge’s ruling reduced the minimum investment amount to $500,000 from $900,000, although it also reduced the number of areas that qualified…

Edgewater investor shells out $46M for downtown Miami development “Burdines” site

Enrique Manhard and his partners, who recently sold land in Edgewater to the Kushner Companies, have reinvested in downtown Miami. The investors paid $46 million to buy the “Burdines” site, a 2.2-acre block at 16 Southeast Second Street, from Wharton Equity Partners and Cross Lake Partners The development site is zoned for a 2.2-million-square-foot…

Wharton Equity Partners, Cross Lake Partners Sell Development Site in Downtown Miami for $46M

Wharton Equity Partners and Cross Lake Partners LP have sold a 92,972-square-foot development site located at 16 SE 2nd St. in downtown Miami. Colliers International’s Urban Core Division facilitated the $46 million sale of the full city block, known as Miami Center. The property is currently home to a parking lot. Mika Mattingly of Colliers and Robert Given…

Downtown Miami Mixed-Use Development Site Commands $46M

A New York-based venture of Wharton Equity Partners and Cross Lake Partners has sold one of the largest undeveloped parcels in downtown Miami, zoned for a 2 million-square-foot mixed-use development. According to South Florida Business Journal, South American businessman Enrique Manhard picked up the 2.2-acre site for $46 million. Zoned…

Fifty former Sears stores go to market

The owner of the defunct Sears franchise is looking to unload a chunk of properties. Andrea Olshan, chief executive officer of the real estate investment trust Seritage Growth Properties that bankrupt Sears formed five years ago, wants to sell 40 to 50 former stores to generate cash, Bloomberg News reported. The sales will also allow Seritage to…

Biden extends CDC eviction moratorium one more time

The Biden administration Thursday extended the federal ban on evictions for a fourth and likely final time, pushing a moratorium set to sunset at the end of the month until July 31. Landlord groups like the National Multifamily Housing Council criticized the extension, calling the move “out of step with the significant progress made in…

Brookfield pays $26M for Doral warehouse

Brookfield Asset Management bought the Bristol Logistics Center in Doral for $26.3 million. The Toronto-based alternative asset manager purchased the building at 1900 Northwest 92nd Avenue from an affiliate of San Francisco-based Bristol Group, according to a news release. Larry Genet and Tom O’Loughlin were part of the CBRE team that represented…

Travel Tech Company Amadeus Downsizing in Doral, Puts 85K SF on the Market

As high-profile newcomers snatch up Miami leases, Amadeus, a leading travel software company, is downsizing its footprint in the city, Commercial Observer has learned. The tech company is vacating its entire North American headquarters at One Park Square in Doral, Fla., placing the entire 84,110 square feet on the market. The global firm is looking for a new…

Doral Bans Gambling Amid Trump-Owned Casino Prospects

The Doral city council earlier this month voted 4-0 to ban gambling and casinos from the city unless approved by residents in a referendum, weeks after Gov. Ron DeSantis negotiated a $500 million gaming deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, reports the Miami Herald. Critics believe the compact was tailored to allow casinos at properties such as the Trump…

Landlords in peril, tenants in distress: Expiring eviction bans foreshadow national reckoning

In Connecticut, real estate attorney Ori Spiegel hadn’t heard much from landlords as the end of his state’s eviction ban approached. He expects that to change, starting today. “There are many who I’ve asked to call me back on June 30,” Spiegel said. “The governor has often waited until the last minute to extend the moratorium…”

BTI Partners buys Hollywood Bread Building for $11M, plans multifamily tower

BTI Partners plans a 25-story multifamily project on the site of the Hollywood Bread Building, after buying the property for $11 million. Fort Lauderdale-based BTI Partners and its equity partner Bridge Investment Group bought the Bread Building at 1747 Van Buren Street, according to a news release. Steve Kohn and Chris Moyer were part of the Cushman…

KPC Properties buys Plantation apartment complex for $46M

KPC Properties bought a Plantation apartment complex for $46 million. The Fort Lauderdale-based group bought Axis at One Pine at 1 South Pine Island Road from Pensam Capital, according to Tal Frydman, one of the brokers on the deal. Frydman worked with Avery Klann, both of Newmark, to close the sale. The five-story complex totals 209 units and more than 228,275 sf…

Batmasians buy Deerfield Beach multifamily complex for $46M

James and Marta Batmasian’s investment firm bought a Deerfield Beach apartment complex for $46 million. Their firm, Investments Limited, bought the 212-unit Lakes at Deerfield at 1100 South Military Trail from GFI Capital Resources Group, according to a news release from the brokers involved. The deal breaks down to $216,981 per unit. Tal Frydman…

Avanti buys Boynton Beach apartments for $105M

LeCesse Development Corporation sold a 341-unit apartment complex in Boynton Beach for $105 million. Skye at Boynton Beach LLC, tied to LeCesse, sold 500 Ocean Apartments at 101 South Federal Highway to four Delaware entities. Three are tied to Denver-based Avanti Residential and one is linked to a real estate investment trust, records show. The deal equates to…

Downtown West Palm Beach office building, parking lot sell for $20M

The Galleria International, an office building in West Palm Beach, sold for $20 million, in a deal that included a parking lot, The Real Deal has learned. Galleria International LLC sold the 42,263-square-foot office building at 301 Clematis Street to Clematis Banyan Investors LP, according to a press release. Safe Parking LLC sold the 30,000-square-foot parking lot adjacent…

Berkadia Arranges $31M Sale of Mixed-Use Bay Harbor Islands Development Site

Berkadia has arranged the $31 million sale of a 1.8-acre development site in Miami’s Bay Harbor Islands known as 1177 Kane Concourse. Located just west of Bal Harbour Shops, the site includes 300 feet of frontage on Kane Concourse and is permitted for a mixed-use residential, retail and office development. Jaret Turkell, Roberto Pesant, Scott Wadler, Omar Morales…

Billionaire Teaming Up With Sidewalk Labs On Miami Development

Billionaire developer Moishe Mana, through his company Mana Common, has engaged Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs to plan sustainable infrastructure for a swath of property he owns in Miami’s trendy Wynwood neighborhood. Sidewalk Labs, dubbed an urban innovation company, will design energy, waste and parking systems across 24 acres. It is one of the first projects…

Forget Silicon Valley: Commissioner Wants to Attract Big Pharma to Miami-Dade

When it comes to the future of Miami, the buzz for the past six months has pretty much focused on Mayor Francis Suarez’s push to make the city a hub for tech companies and startups. That’s been the narrative ever since December, when the mayor responded to a throwaway suggestion on Twitter (“ok guys hear me out, what if we move silicon valley to…”)

Miami Market Update: Office Transaction Activity Picks Up Pace

In April, six properties totaling 575,367 square feet changed hands in Miami, at a combined price of $265 million and an average of $461.1 per square foot, according to CommercialEdge data. The office market has picked up momentum in the first quarter of the year, and the growing interest in the Southern Florida market doesn’t seem to be slowing…

Kleber Discusses Miami’s Office Boom

Miami is having a moment. Name a premier financial or tech company and chances are it’s scoping out Miami offices. These include industry giants Citadel, Millennium Management, Apollo Global Management, Apple, Bitcoin.com, and the list goes on. The Magic City is an appealing alternative to New York and San Francisco. Why not settle some place where the…

Related, Dezer report nearly $1 billion sellout at Residences by Armani/Casa

A new benchmark for post-pandemic condo sales in South Florida was set with the nearly $1 billion sellout of the Related Group and Dezer Development’s Residences by Armani/Casa. The developers are among the latest to report a sellout or near sellout in recent months as demand remains high for luxury condos in South Florida. E11even Hotel…

Rilea Group plans multifamily project on Wynwood site purchased for $22 million

Miami’s Wynwood continues to grow as an apartment rental market, with a developer planning a multifamily project on a site it purchased for $22 million. Rilea Group bought the property at 56 Northeast 29th Street from 29th Street Warehouse LLC, managed by Lombardi Properties, in an off-market deal, according to a news release. Alfred…

Hamilton on the Bay’s owner Aimco adds more land to its Edgewater war chest

Multifamily real estate investment trust Aimco, owner of the waterfront Hamilton on the Bay apartment tower, is expanding its land assemblage in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. Aimco has closed on or is in contract to buy nearly the entire block of 34th Street, across from the Hamilton, sources told The Real Deal. The Denver-based REIT was rumored to…

Office investors Tishman Speyer, Brookfield put money where mouth is

Since early in the pandemic, office landlords have maintained that work-from-home would not cripple their big-city portfolios. But talk is cheap. Who backed up their bluster with billions of dollars in office investments? Tishman Speyer and Brookfield did, their executives said Wednesday at a forum in Qatar. Rob Speyer said that since March, his firm had…

Estate Companies sells Soleste Alameda apartments in West Miami for $83M

The Estate Companies sold its fifth West Miami multifamily project for $82.9 million. Estate, based in South Miami, sold the 306-unit Soleste Alameda at 6320 and 6290 Southwest Eighth Street to Dallas-based Westdale Real Estate Investment and Management, according to Neyda Bravo, a broker on the deal. The sale breaks down to $270,971 per unit. Bravo work…

Mall landlords turn to pop-up stores to boost revenue

Retailers aren’t the only ones working their way back from the ravages of the pandemic. Mall landlords have been decimated, and many are now courting temporary tenants, pushing the pop-up stores to boost revenue and fill space. Mall operators on Long Island and across the nation are trying to entice retailers with cheaper rents — sometimes a few months…

Global Horizons buys Buena Vista and Little Haiti portfolio for $13M

Global Horizons Group bought a 35-property portfolio of single-family homes and apartment buildings in Miami’s Buena Vista and Little Haiti neighborhoods for $12.85 million. The North Miami Beach-based investor bought the properties from Miami-based Bowery Properties, led by Thomas Neary, according to Global Horizons’ co-founder and co-managing…

County cuts $4 billion West Dade development deal with developer Terra

Miami-Dade and developer Terra have agreed to early terms of a project near Dolphin Station that is expected to yield the county more than $4 billion over a century. Commissioners June 15 approved a 97-year contract with the Miami firm for construction of Upland Park, a mixed development to span 33 county acres where the Dolphin Expressway and Florida…

Major Mexico investment firm to open in Miami

Banorte Securities International (BSI), an investment management and brokerage service company based in Houston, announced it will open offices in the Brickell financial district to attend to its clients from Mexico and the Latin American region in South Florida.  The company is a subsidiary of Mexican financial institution Grupo Financiero Banorte…

Economists agree inflation may hit 5.5% this year

Inflation is here already. Prices of goods are increasing and consumers are starting to notice it. The federal response due to the coronavirus health crisis caused an extra liquidity in the system and the monetary base is expanding at record levels. As a consequence, economists agree that inflation may rise up to 5.5% at the end of 2021 but are still uncertain…

The pandemic’s boost to online sales: A one-time event or a new normal?

The FRED graph above shows online retail sales. It’s no surprise these sales have been steadily increasing, even if there are a few rough patches during recessions. And it’s also completely expected that the pandemic provided a large boost to e-commerce over on-site retail. The question is whether this is a temporary boost that will subside once the world returns to…

PMG buying shuttered Johnson and Wales North Miami campus, planning redevelopment

The Johnson and Wales campus and PMG principals Kevin Maloney and Ryan Shear (PMG) Property Markets Group is making a big play in North Miami. The New York-based luxury condo and apartment developer is buying the shuttered, 25-acre Johnson and Wales campus, with plans for partial redevelopment, according to city documents and a commercial…

Neighbor sues to short-circuit Jimmy Tate and Sergio Rok’s no-bid North Miami project

An aerial of the proposed development site and warehouse with Sergio Rok and Jimmy Tate The city of North Miami’s plan allowing developers Jimmy Tate and Sergio Rok to build a mixed-use project on two city-owned parking lots has hit a legal snag. The owner of a warehouse next door to the proposed development and its tenant are suing North Miami and TR…

AMS Hospitality, Black Salmon buy Circa 39 hotel in Miami Beach

A joint venture between The Allen Morris Company and Stormont Hospitality partnered with Black Salmon to buy a boutique hotel in Miami Beach, the second in a series of planned purchases together. AMS Hospitality Group and Black Salmon paid $25.5 million for Circa 39, a 97-key hotel at 3900 Collins Avenue, according to a press release. The Art…

Terra paid $32M for Bay Harbor Islands development site

Terra closed on a mixed-use development site along Bay Harbor Islands’ Kane Concourse for $31.5 million. David Martin’s Coconut Grove-based Terra had been under contract to purchase the property at 1177 Kane Concourse and closed on Wednesday, according to a news release from one of the sellers. The purchase comes on the heels of the Bay Harbor…

Investment firm makes $130M offer for 60-year-old Edgewater condo complex

Edgewater, a bayfront Miami neighborhood north of downtown, continues to attract big spenders. The latest, Beach Hill Capital Partners — a Miami-based investment firm led by Daniel Rotenberg — is offering $130 million for an older waterfront condo complex called Bay Park, The Real Deal has learned. The company submitted a letter of intent in mid-May for the…

Ex-WeWork CEO Adam Neumann inks $44M deal for Bal Harbour properties

So long, Bay Area: Adam Neumann is headed to South Florida. The WeWork co-founder and ex-CEO inked an off-market deal for two properties on the Bal Harbour Marina, just north of Miami Beach, for $44 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The purchase comes roughly two months after Neumann sold his northern California estate for $22.4 million. Local…

The grand reopening: As restrictions lift, CRE markets race toward recovery

It wasn’t the pan-roasted halibut that drew a small crowd to Blu Mar on a recent Thursday afternoon. One after another, guests on the splashy Southampton seafood spot’s outdoor patio removed the face coverings they had been wearing for the better part of a year and tossed them into a fire pit, which was then doused with fuel and set ablaze to the tune…

Chart: Miami-Dade Commercial Real Estate Sales May 2021

The above chart shows the number of closed sales of Miami-Dade commercial properties, including both improved commercial property and vacant commercial land, that were booked in the Miami MLS for the two years ending May 2021. Last month, May 2021, was the second highest month over the prior two years, though still off somewhat from the…

Software firm Chetu buys Sunrise office property for $25M

Software provider Chetu paid $25 million for its new headquarters in Sunrise in Broward County. Chetu, now based in Plantation, bought the office property at 1500 Concord Terrace at the Sawgrass International Corporate Park, according to a news release. Chetu will move its headquarters there in the fall. The seller, 1500 Concord Terrace LLC…

Des Moines investment firm pays $26M for T-Mobile data center in Sunrise

A group tied to Principal Real Estate Investors picked up a T-Mobile data center in Sunrise for $26 million. Property records show an affiliate of Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Real Estate Investors bought the property at 4850 Northwest 103rd Avenue from LPCH Florida Equities, tied to Dallas-based Lincoln Property Company. Lincoln Property’s data center division…

Harbor Group Sells Pembroke Pines Apartment Community for $223M

Harbor Group International LLC has sold a 700-unit apartment community in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale suburb of Pembroke Pines, Fla., for nearly $222.7 million, marking the metro’s largest recorded multifamily sale this year. The Class A property, City Center on 7th, spans 40 buildings near the intersection of Pines Boulevard and Palm Avenue. Harbor Group….

Pebblebrook Buying Florida Margaritaville Resort For $270M

Bethesda, Maryland-based Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, a publicly traded REIT that owns 51 hotels in the U.S., announced Wednesday that it will acquire the 18-story, 369-room Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida, for $270M. The sale price amounts to more than $731K per room. The seller, Denver-based KSL Capital Partners, bought the…

Pebblebrook buying Margaritaville Hollywood Beach for $270M

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is buying Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort for $270 million, which would be the biggest South Florida hotel sale this year. The real estate investment trust is in contract to acquire the 369-key Jimmy Buffett-inspired resort at 1111 North Ocean Drive in Hollywood, according to the company. Pebblebrook, one of the country’s largest…

Aimco spinoff buys Harbor Group’s Pembroke Pines apartments for $223M, marking largest South Florida multifamily sale this year

Harbor Group International sold a 700-unit apartment complex in Pembroke Pines for nearly $223 million, marking the largest multifamily deal in South Florida this year. Norfolk, Virginia-based Harbor Group sold City Center on 7th to Air Communities, an entity linked to the real estate investment trust Aimco, The Real Deal has learned. AIR Communities…

Furniture wholesaler pays $9 million for Hollywood distribution facility

A California home furniture wholesaler bought a Hollywood industrial building to serve as a distribution facility for $9.1 million. Records show Los Angeles-based VIG Furniture bought the property at 3600 North 29th Avenue from TMS Hollywood Properties, which is tied to RS Trading Company. The 75,988-square-foot building was constructed in 1969…

Fuse Group acquires Security Building in downtown Miami, plans to sue WeWork for alleged lease breach

Fuse Group Investment acquired the storied Security Building in downtown Miami and plans to sue WeWork over allegedly vacating its offices in violation of the lease, The Real Deal has learned. The 17-story, historic building at 117 Northeast First Avenue was under a foreclosure action against the previous owner, Security Building AR Owner LLC. Fuse Group…

All in on Miami: Kushner pays $21 million for Edgewater site of planned apartment tower

Kushner Companies paid $20.5 million for a slice of an assemblage in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood, more than two years after going into contract on the property, The Real Deal has learned. Investor Enrique Manhard and his partners sold the 0.75-acre piece of a larger assemblage, at 2000 Biscayne Boulevard, to New York-based Kushner, led by Charles…

Melo joins Miami condo craze with two-tower Edgewater project

Melo Group is launching condo sales of one of two towers on a site it has been assembling for more than a decade in Miami’s Edgewater, The Real Deal has learned. The Melo family, which has largely focused on building rental towers in recent years, released information to brokers on its next project, Aria Reserve Miami. The two-tower, roughly 800-unit…

Arch, Infinity JV to build mixed-use multifamily tower in Miami’s Edgewater

Arch Companies and Infinity Real Estate are partnering to build a mixed-use multifamily project in Miami’s Edgewater, across the street from their 2500 Biscayne tower. The two New York firms plan to develop the more than 1-acre assemblage at 2501 Biscayne Boulevard, most recently home to Latin Cafe 2000. The property sold for $13 million in 2017 to an entity…

Investor buys multifamily complex near Miami Shores for $15M

Investor Leon Ojalvo bought the lakefront Blue Lake Village Apartments near Miami Shores for $15 million. Ojalvo, of Miami-based investment firm Liberty Base Investments, bought the 106-unit community at 1205 Northwest 103 Lane from an entity tied to investor Fidel Yero, according to the seller’s broker. The deal breaks down to $141,509 per unit. Jacob…

State Attorney moving to River Landing in what could be $108 million lease

Leaky bathrooms, malfunctioning air conditioning, faulty elevators, and a flooded parking garage. Those are some things that staff at State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle’s office will say goodbye to in about six months, when they move into new space at River Landing Shops & Residences. The arrangement will benefit both tenant and landlord…

FPL is Offering Commercial Property Owners EV Fast Charger Stations at No Cost

Florida Power and Light (FPL) recently reached out to me to inquire as to who I might know that could be interested in having FPL install a few electric vehicle (EV) fast charging stations at no cost. FPL will provide the EV chargers and cover the installation and maintenance. There also note that there would be no net impact on electricity costs. They are looking…

Air urban mobility set to take off in Miami; passenger drones coming soon that you think

The Miami Parking Authority and the Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works are already thinking about how to integrate emerging urban air mobility into the transportation ecosystem in Miami.  Air mobility of passengers is closer than we might think, “it is something that would be here within the next two to three years,” said…

CIP Miami Springs, LV Lending Break Ground on 120,225 SF Mixed-Use Project

CIP Miami Springs and LV Lending have broken ground on Miami Springs Town Center, a 120,225-square-foot mixed-use project located at 1 Curtiss Parkway in Miami Springs, about 10 miles outside of downtown Miami. The project is scheduled to be complete in the second quarter of 2022. Designed by Cabrera Ramos Architects, Miami Springs Town Center will feature…

Miami Office Market Update: Rising Demand, Falling Vacancy Rates

Miami has been reaping the benefits of migration trends for quite some time, becoming one of the nation’s fastest-rising cities. According to CommercialEdge data, the market encompassed some 7.7 million square feet of vacant office space as of May and a vacancy rate of 14.6 percent, falling below the 15.3 percent national average. Miami is dealing with…

Related Group, Starwood Team Up With Baccarat-Branded Condo Project In Miami

Jorge Pérez’s Related Group and Barry Sternlicht’s SH Hotels & Resorts will be working together on a project for the first time with a Baccarat-branded residential project in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. Baccarat makes crystal and has been in existence since 1764. A Baccarat Hotel & Residences at 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York opened in 2015 with…

Allapattah Residents Fight For A Seat At The Table As City Makes Development Decisions

Allapattah is a primarily Latino, working-class neighborhood in Miami, with one section called Little Santo Domingo for its influx of residents from the Dominican Republic. In the past few years, as land prices in trendier neighborhoods like Wynwood and Brickell shot up, Miami developers have turned their attention there. A funky project with units on stilts, designed…

Despite big gaps, Miami tourism passes pre-covid levels

Miami-Dade’s tourism industry is surpassing many comparable 2019 statistics despite a glaring lack of international, convention and cruise travel. At the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau’s State of the Tourism and Hospitality Industry’s May breakfast, experts predicted summer hotel occupancy highs would approach summer 2019 lows.

EB-5 program set to expire at the end of June

A U.S. visa program that gave green cards to investors and was popular among real estate developers, is set to expire, with no clear plan for an extension. As it stands, the EB-5 program allows foreign investors in the U.S. who put at least $900,000 into a business that creates 10 or more jobs to apply for permanent residence. It’s now due to expire at the end of June.

Canadian finance firm to relocate headquarters, 450 jobs to Miami

A Canadian firm seeking to relocate its global headquarters to Miami and create 450 high-paying jobs got a go-ahead Tuesday to receive $167,500 through a Miami-Dade incentives program. Dallas was competing for the headquarters. The global wealth and asset management firm has vowed to spend $5 million on a 45,000-square-foot office and by 2028 create the…

Nuveen Nears Completion of $55M Renovation at Three Office Properties in Miami

Nuveen Real Estate is nearing completion of renovations at three of its office properties in Miami. The assets are located at 801 Brickell and 701 Brickell in the city’s Brickell financial district and at Waterford Business District, a 250-acre office hub that Nuveen co-owns with Allianz Real Estate. The capital improvements total $55 million in value and include digital…

Chart – Inflation Watch May 2021: Rise in Inflation Expectations Pauses at Elevated Levels; 5-Year TIPS Spread Indicating 2.57%

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 5-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate, commonly referred to as the TIPS Spread, a measure of expected inflation derived from 5-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Securities and 5-Year Treasury Inflation-Indexed Constant Maturity Securities, for the 5 years ending 5/31/21 Above is the chart for the 5-Year breakeven inflation…

Dear Mr. President: Landlords urge Biden to let eviction ban expire

Throughout the pandemic, landlords and real estate trade groups have filed lawsuits seeking to end the federal eviction ban. So far, none has succeeded. Now, with the moratorium set to end on June 30, property owners are asking the Biden administration not to issue another extension. Twelve organizations representing landlords, brokers and developers sent a…

Miami’s First Large-Scale Opportunity Zone Project Begins Leasing

Miami-based multifamily developer The Estate Cos. and PTM Partners, a real estate investment and development firm with a focus on qualified opportunity zones, announced Monday that they have launched leasing at Soleste Grand Central in Overtown, which they described as Downtown Miami’s first large-scale opportunity zone project. Scott Meyer, chief…

Mall REIT Washington Prime Group files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

In November, with mall owners getting crushed, Washington Prime Group CEO Lou Conforti said that bankruptcy was off the table. But in March, it was reported that the mall REIT was preparing for the filing. Now it has done the deed. Washington Prime Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday. The company has secured $100 million of funding for day-to-day…

Related Group’s condo kings expand their realm

Getting burned twice in Las Vegas didn’t kill Related Group’s dream of national expansion. But it taught the megadeveloper the importance of boots on the ground. Miami condo king Jorge Pérez and his son Jon Paul are expanding their Related Group with a $13 billion pipeline of projects throughout the Americas, their boldest move beyond Florida since…

HFZ Capital off the hook for $6M in failed Shore Club South Beach deal

HFZ Capital Group is off the hook from paying $6 million to the planned operator of the Shore Club in South Beach, following litigation tied to the companies’ failed deal. HFZ Capital Group wanted to redevelop the property at 1901 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach into a condo-hotel, and signed luxury Brazilian hospitality brand Fasano to manage the revived…

TPG nabs Miami AC Marriott, Hampton Inn in Edgewater for $61M

TPG Real Estate Partners bought two hotels in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood for $61 million. Investor TPG, through an affiliate, bought the AC Hotel Miami Midtown at 3400 Biscayne Boulevard and the next-door Hampton Inn & Suites at 3450 Biscayne Boulevard, records show. TPG bought the properties through its national…

Drive Shack bringing Puttery socializing and golf entertainment concept to Wynwood

Drive Shack Inc. (NYSE: DS), a leading owner and operator of golf-related leisure and entertainment businesses, announced today that it will bring Puttery, its newest competitive socializing and entertainment golf experience to Wynwood, an eclectic neighborhood in the core of Miami, Florida. Located approximately two miles from downtown Miami…

Moishe Mana expands downtown Miami assemblage with $27M purchase

Moishe Mana, the biggest private real estate owner in downtown Miami, bought two more buildings for $27.2 million. The properties add to his massive assemblage aimed at creating a tech hub. Records show 41 Flagler Realty, which is linked to Mana’s Wynwood convention center, bought the properties at 62 Northeast First Street and 41 East Flagler Street from…

Grove Isle legal battle ending, as developer rebrands planned waterfront condo project

After winning an appeals court decision that caps a lengthy legal battle, the developer of The Markers Grove Isle is moving forward with construction, and rebranding the planned waterfront condominium project as Vita. Construction is expected to begin in early 2022 after design tweaks, said John Shubin, the attorney for the developer, Grove Isle Associates, LLP.

North Miami studios, home to “Miami Vice” and “The Birdcage,” sells to developer that plans mixed-use project

North Miami Studios and two productions, “The Birdcage” and “Miami Vice” (Getty) The production studios, once home to “The Birdcage,” “Miami Vice,” “Something About Mary” and a number of other films and television shows, sold to a developer that plans a mixed-use project… paid $10.5 million for the 2.8-acre property at 12100 Northeast 16th Avenue in…

The share of US companies planning to slash their office space is plummeting

US companies that planned to downsize their office real estate during the pandemic are now rethinking their plans. Only 9% of large US companies, defined as 10,000 employees or more, anticipate their office portfolios will get “significantly smaller” over the next three years, according to a new report from CBRE, a commercial real estate company. That’s down from…

The Top 10 Tallest Buildings in Miami (You Can Live In)

If you’ve been visiting Miami over the years, one thing you’ve probably noticed is the buildings keep getting taller, and the skyline keeps growing. Ever since the FAA relaxed its height restrictions more than six years ago, Miami’s skyline has continued to elevate itself with glimmering designs of glass and light. The tallest residential building in Miami as of this post…

Seattle investors buy Fort Lauderdale, Oakland Park apartment buildings for $7M

Seattle-based investors bought three multifamily buildings with 48 units in Broward County for $7.25 million. Schulman Properties, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, sold the two buildings at 999 West Prospect Road in Oakland Park and the building across the street at 1007 West Prospect Road in Fort Lauderdale to Delaware-registered Jass 2 LLC, records show. The deal…

Cortland buys Deerfield Beach multifamily complex for $66M

Cortland bought a 226-unit Deerfield Beach multifamily complex for $66 million. Atlanta-based Cortland bought the 226-unit Indigo Station at 67 Southwest 12th Avenue from Palm Beach Gardens-based Ram Realty Advisors, records show. The deal breaks down to $291,814 per unit. Ram Realty, led by Casey Cummings, buys, renovates, manages and develops…

Hudson Capital, Barron Commercial tycoons buy Oakland Park shopping center for $10M

Real estate honchos Steven Hudson and Charles Ladd Jr. bought the Primavera Plaza in Oakland Park for $10 million, their second retail purchase in the city in as many weeks. Hudson, of Hudson Capital Group, and Ladd, of Barron Commercial Development, bought the property at 830 and 840 East Oakland Park Boulevard from ATID Investments, managed…

Core pays $19M for shopping center near FIU

Core paid $19 million for a shopping plaza near Florida International University’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus in west Miami-Dade County. The Miami-based real estate investor, through an affiliate, bought the retail property at 9720 Southwest Eighth Street from two sellers tied to Miami-based Orion Real Estate Group, records show. The seller bought the…

‘We Can’t Raise Rents Fast Enough’: South Florida Multifamily Market Soars (But So Do Costs)

In South Florida, where the population is booming and homeownership is out of reach for many, multifamily developers have been able to command high rents in their fully leased apartment complexes. But building new projects is challenging because land is only available between the ocean and the Everglades, and savvy sellers are not letting go of their…

Lynd pays $40M for Miami Gardens apartments

Lynd bought a Miami Gardens apartment complex for $40.1 million, marking the group’s second South Florida multifamily purchase this year. San Antonio, Texas-based Lynd purchased the 234-unit Parc Place Apartments at 17600 Northwest Fifth Avenue in an off-market deal, according to a news release. The price breaks down to $171,282 per unit.

Biden ends talks with GOP on infrastructure, turns to Plan B

Following a week of fruitless negotiations with Senate Republicans to fund a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, President Joe Biden ended the talks without a deal. The failed bargaining efforts concluded with a Tuesday call with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, the lead Republican negotiator, the New York Times and other outlets reported. Republicans had long been…

Clevelander wins lawsuit against Miami Beach over alcohol rollback

Miami Beach’s attempt at curbing late-night partying by ending alcohol sales earlier was overturned in court. The decision is a win for businesses that opposed the rollback but bad news for developers who say the city needs to reinvent its image in the entertainment district. The Clevelander South Beach, a hotel with a restaurant and bar known for its all-day…

Miami Condo Building To Install World’s Largest, Tallest Automated Parking System

A New Jersey-based company has been contracted to install a robotic parking system in a 46-story condo building in Miami. It will be the largest and tallest automated guided vehicle, or AGV, parking system in the world, according to a May 26 announcement from Park Plus, which is taking over the job after a different parking provider allegedly installed a faulty…

Terra puts Bay Harbor Islands mixed-use dev site under contract

Terra has a development site along Bay Harbor Islands’ Kane Concourse under contract, with plans for a residential, office and retail project. Coconut Grove-based Terra, led by David Martin, intends to purchase the 2-acre vacant property at 1177 Kane Concourse from NR/Wharton Kane Concourse Property Owner, according to a letter filed with the town.

PMG Developing Condo Project With Miami ‘Ultraclub’

The $40M venue E11even Miami has been described as a strip club, “technically not a strip club,” a club where dancers just happen not to have tops on and “an R-rated version of the alien bar in the opening sequence of Star Wars, but add in a great sound system with strippers.” Its website defines it as an “ultraclub.” Whatever the definition, it is popular.

Black Lion doubles down on Miami with purchase of Wynwood Arcade, Amara at Paraiso

Robert Rivani’s Black Lion Investment Group purchased the Wynwood Arcade and the nearby Amara at Paraiso property in Miami’s Edgewater for more than $25 million combined, as the firm doubles down on South Florida. The two sales mark another sign of rising demand for retail and restaurant properties in Miami. East End Capital sold the Wynwood…

Daniel Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners inks 10-year Coconut Grove office lease

Daniel Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners is the latest investment firm to plant a flag in Miami. The New York City-based hedge fund signed a 10-year, 25,000-square-foot office lease at Related Group’s new building in Coconut Grove, where the developer is now based. The building, at 2850 Tigertail Avenue, is now fully leased, according to a release. D1 lost $4 billion, or…

Miami-Dade gets rent check from casino giant Genting for $10 million

Miami-Dade got a big check in the mail last week: $10 million from the Genting Group as part of the Malaysian casino giant’s nearly century-long rental of space above an Omni bus station north of downtown Miami. The one-time payment precedes planned construction of a 36-story hotel and retail center on Northeast 14th Terrace. The county and Genting…

Coral Gables turning up the volume at downtown eateries

A Coral Gables ordinance to allow outdoor live amplified music on private ground level for private establishments in the Central Business District has gotten a preliminary go-ahead.  During Tuesday’s city commission meeting, city officials voted 4-1 to move forward with an ordinance that would create an additional exemption to the city’s noise ordinance allowing…

Property Appraiser lists Miami-Dade taxable values as up 3.6% countywide

Countywide taxable property values in Miami-Dade rose 3.6% last year, according to an estimate by Property Appraiser Pedro Garcia. The estimate includes both new and old construction. Properties that existed a year ago as a group rose 1.9% over the period, an increase of $6.28 billion in value, Mr. Garcia’s estimate shows. The rest of the increase was attributed…

Battle for their apartments: Hamilton on the Bay tenants in Miami’s Edgewater fight Aimco’s lease terminations

Hamilton on the Bay Tenants of a prized multifamily property in Miami’s Edgewater are fighting back after their landlord notified them that their leases are being terminated, The Real Deal has learned. Tenants of the Hamilton on the Bay apartment building are being asked to leave by July 16, according to a lease termination letter obtained by TRD. Aimco…

Miami Beach board approves pharmacy for North Beach project

Developer Aria Mehrabi’s future 12-story mixed-use project will now include a pharmacy, in spite of a recommendation from Miami Beach’s planning department to reject the request, due to its proximity to another drugstore. By a vote of 6 to 0, Miami Beach’s Zoning Board of Adjustments on Friday approved variances that will enable a CVS pharmacy to…

Ubiica, Maven buy Coral Gables office building, parking lot for $9 million

Ubiica and Maven Real Estate bought a Coral Gables office building and parking lot for $8.7 million. The partners bought the two-story property at 1533 Sunset Drive and the 10,000-square-foot parking north across San Ignacio Avenue, said Alejandro Salazar, Ubiica’s manager. The seller is Winter Garden, Florida-based Windsor Investments, managed by…

Miami among cities where the most self-storage space was built in the past decade

The self-storage sector added about 300 million square feet of new supply over the last decade, as the number of apartments grew and the size of each unit fell. People in the self-storage industry often talk about the “four Ds” that drive demand for their business: death, divorce, dislocation, and downsizing (or disaster, or density, depending on who you ask). The past…

Miami Makes List of Top 10 Markets for Self Storage Rent Growth

The self storage sector has established itself as a strong performer, despite troublesome market conditions over the past year. Thanks to its countercyclical nature and low sensitivity to changes in the economy, the sector could capitalize on the demand fueled by the pandemic-induced relocations and displacements across the country, leading to…

8.5-Acre Medley Development Site In Booming South Florida Industrial Market Purchased

Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP), a unit of Hilco Global, just announced the purchase of an industrial development site located at 11002 Northwest South River Drive in Medley. The 8.5-acre property is part of a larger 25-acre Superfund site which has previously undergone corrective action. HRP has current plans to develop the site into a state-of-the-art…

What Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan holds for real estate

President Joe Biden offered a series of concessions to Senate Republicans this week, the White House said, as he negotiates passage of his $1 trillion infrastructure deal — a plan that would have huge implications for the real estate industry. In an Oval Office meeting, Biden proposed that a new corporate version of the alternative minimum tax would be imposed…

Economic recovery quickens from crawling to merely slow

The economic recovery can’t get here fast enough. Employers added back 559,000 jobs to the U.S. economy in May, more than double the number in the previous month. While that is confirmation that the economy is recovering from the pandemic, it’s coming back at a slower pace than economists had predicted. The gains were “lower than anticipated…”

Restoration Hardware to open Miami Design District store

Restoration Hardware, now known as RH, is planting a flag in the Miami Design District, The Real Deal has learned. The high-end furnishings retailer inked a lease at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance and the Comras Company’s buildings on the west end of the Design District, according to sources. Michael Comras confirmed that Restoration Hardware…

Retail Real Estate Leases – Q2 2021

The South Florida retail real estate market is witnessing quite a bit of activity despite the influence and presence of the pandemic, and it seems it is turning the page. There are several factors for this, but two primary reasons are: 1) Florida is back in business and has been open earlier compared to other…

The Fed: A V-shaped recovery : Tracking GDP in the G-7 through COVID-19

The pandemic-driven recession started in the first quarter of 2020. After a  year, it appears the recession is nearly at an end. The FRED graph above tracks this downturn in GDP for countries in the G-7, all indexed to 100 in Q4 2019. The full legend is large, so we’ve removed it from this graph. Simply mouse over the graph to read the series titles and identify…

The Fed: Beige Book Contacts Figure Labor Shortages Will Improve by Fall

Some Atlanta Fed business contacts expect worker shortages, particularly for lower-wage jobs, to become less troublesome by the fall. Already, pressure to increase wages across the Southeast picked up from April through the middle of May, most notably for low-skilled positions, according to the new Beige Book report of regional economic conditions…

Miami board delays vote on revised Little Haiti mixed-use project

The development team of Sabal Palm Village aims to replace low-rise Design Place with a high-rise community with public spaces and bike paths. For the ninth time, the city of Miami’s Planning Zoning and Appeals Board deferred voting on a controversial mixed-use, high-rise project that would exceed 5 million square feet. It’s slated to replace the 512-unit Design…

Despite Shutdown, Brightline Still Drives South Florida’s ‘Rail Estate’ Market

A pandemic-driven suspension of the Brightline train service has endured for more than a year, yet it hasn’t derailed real estate investment near its South Florida stations. Brightline, which launched its passenger rail service in 2018, currently connects Miami to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, at downtown train stations in each city. Service, which was suspended…

Blackstone, Starwood up bid for Extended Stay America

Blackstone Group and Starwood Capital Group are once again trying to woo Extended Stay America’s shareholders. The two firms announced Tuesday that they would increase their offer to buy the hotel operator to $20.50 per share, Bloomberg News reported. In March, they agreed to buy the company at $19.50 per share. But some of Extended Stay’s shareholders…

Investors pour $10B into life sciences real estate this year

The future of the office sector remains largely uncertain at this point post-pandemic, but there’s one segment that continues to see huge gains. Investors have spent more than $10 billion on buying life sciences buildings this year, Bloomberg News reported, citing data from Real Capital Analytics. That’s about 4 percent of all global commercial real estate transactions…

This startup creates community to help landlords retain tenants

A property tech startup is betting that New Yorkers, after a year spent huddled inside, could use a little help meeting and mingling with their neighbors. The firm, Venn, just raised $60 million in venture capital — funds earmarked, in part, to build out its New York footprint. The company launched its eponymous app in 2017 as a hyperlocal social network…

South Florida’s Outlying Markets, From Belle Glade To Treasure Coast, Heat Up

For years, economic developers in Palm Beach County pitched the rural Glades region as an up-and-coming area for industrial development. And for years, splashy deals failed to materialize. That recently changed, when Apopka-based Finfrock, a maker of precast concrete buildings, bought 94 acres on the site of a former state prison in Belle Glade, located just off…

Miami commissioners approve West Grove bed-and-breakfast

A bed-and-breakfast complex planned for the West Grove is moving forward, despite neighboring homeowners’ objections to rezoning the development site due to fears of gentrification. The Miami City Commission last week voted in favor of changing the zoning for six lots near 3227 Charles Avenue in Miami’s Coconut Grove from single-family residentia…

Aventura office complex trades for $93M

Real estate investor and motivational speaker Grant Cardone bought the Harbour Centre at Aventura office complex for $93 million, The Real Deal has learned. Cardone bought the offices at 18851 Northeast 29th Avenue next door to his 10X headquarters. He envisions merging the two properties into a walkable mixed-use campus with affordable housing, he said.

Michael Swerdlow’s Block 55 in Overtown lands nearly $8 million affordable housing grant

A Michael Swerdlow-led mixed-use project in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood at 249 NW 6th Street is getting local government financial assistance for its affordable housing component. Miami city commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved awarding an additional $2.5 million grant to Block 55, after previously giving the project $5 million last year.

Miami-Dade looks to a Center for Genetics of the Americas

While Miami-Dade is already working to attract genetics-focused organizations and businesses, more can still be done, including the possible creation of a Center for Genetics of the Americas, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s administration says. The genetics industry – which encompasses life science, healthcare, agriculture and genomic research, among others…

Mixed-income housing across from Marlins Park wins OK

A plan for new construction of an attainable mixed-income residential development called Paseo del Rio earned the praise of a City of Miami review board. The seven-story, 182-unit building is planned for county-owned property at 1401 NW Seventh St., across from Marlins ballpark. The Urban Development Review Board unanimously recommended approval…

Underdeck connector to follow vast signature bridge/I-395 project

As Downtown Miami approaches another busy summer abuzz in construction, steady progress continues on the I-395/SR 836/I-95 Design-Build Project. An added benefit to improved freeway surfaces is the plan to reconnect areas to downtown, including Overtown, Edgewater and the Omni neighborhood. Miami commissioners approved the first step…

Micro-mobility infrastructure plan targets downtown Miami

A micro-mobility infrastructure project half funded by electric scooter fees could be coming to downtown Miami, adding about three miles of protected bicycle and scooter lanes and laying the groundwork for more lanes in the future. The green-patterned pavement lanes, which would come with concrete barriers separating them from traffic, would run from…

Lack Of Land Has Industrial Developers Looking To Take Over Florida’s Golf Courses, Lakes And The Everglades

As senior vice president for Duke Realty, Stephanie Rodriguez oversees a portfolio of industrial properties in South and Central Florida, a geography with limited space and shrinking new development options. “We’re all fighting over the same pieces of dirt,” Rodriguez said during a May 12 Bisnow South Florida Industrial Update event. “Industrial is the…”

Chart: Miami Commercial Real Estate Sales to List Price Ratio April 2021

January 2011 to April 2021 Sales to List Price Ratio for Commercial/Industrial Property within Miami-Dade County, Florida and Priced from $1 Million to $10 Million as Recorded in Miami MLS The chart above shows the sales to list price ratio as reported by the Miami MLS for improved commercial real estate (MLS classification: commercial…)

Ugo Colombo’s The Collection nabs $65M construction loan for second Coral Gables dealership

Ugo Colombo’s The Collection luxury dealership scored a $64.5 million construction loan for a second Coral Gables location. The Collection, led by Colombo and president and CEO Ken Gorin, is building the Jaguar and Land Rover dealership on about 2 acres at 125, 155 and 163 South Dixie Highway. JP Morgan Chase Bank is the lender, records show. Jaguar sales will be transferred to the new location from The Col…

Mila Group, partners plan hotel and restaurants on Miami River site

A boutique hotel, beach club and two restaurants are planned for a Miami River site, four years after plans for a Sushi Samba eatery fell through. Miami Beach restaurateur Gregory Galy’s Mila Group, in partnership with developer Pacific Star Capital and a Spanish investor, bought the property at 40 Southwest North River Drive from an affiliate of the Melo Group…

LeFrak buys Normandy Isle apartments in Miami Beach for $25M

LeFrak bought the Marina Del Rey apartments in Miami Beach’s Normandy Isle for $24.5 million. The Finvarb family sold the 108-unit waterfront complex at 1006 and 1022 Bay Drive. The sale breaks down to 226,852 per unit. Calum Weaver and Garrett Pordes of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the deal. Marina Del Rey, which varies in…

$24.5M Sale Arranged of Marina Del Rey Apartments in Miami Beach

Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $24.5 million sale of Marina Del Rey, a 108-unit waterfront apartment community in Miami Beach. Calum Weaver, Garrett Pordes, Robert Given, Zach Sackley and Troy Ballard of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Finvarb Group, in the transaction. An entity doing business as 1006 Bay Drive LLC was the…

Anatomy Opens New 15,000 SF Location at Regatta Harbour in Coconut Grove

Anatomy has opened a new location at Regatta Harbour, a 9.5-acre mixed-use development underway in Miami. Anatomy is a progressive fitness community that integrates exercise programing with wellness and beauty. The Regatta Harbour location will be Anatomy’s fourth location in South Florida… Regatta Harbour’s first tenant… at 3385 Pan American Drive…

Black Lion Investment Group Acquires Amara at Paraiso Restaurant Property in Miami for $12.1M

Los Angeles-based Black Lion Investment Group has acquired a restaurant building in Miami known as Amara at Paraiso. The seller, Related Group, sold the property to Black Lion for $12.1 million. Fabio Faerman and Sebastian Faerman of Miami-based FA Commercial represented both parties in the transaction. Amara at Paraiso is a 12,300-square-foot…

Starved for relief: Restaurants seek $76B, far more than budgeted

The Small Business Administration is dishing out rent relief to restaurants, but many figure to go hungry. The demand for federal pandemic relief has far exceeded the amount of money available, so some restaurants, bars and other food businesses might not receive it, the New York Times reported. Restaurants could apply for relief starting May 3, and applications closed…

Miami Market Update: Development Pipeline Holds Steady

Miami’s under construction office stock has expanded to 2.4 million square feet by the end of April, registering a slight spike compared to March, according to CommercialEdge data, with most projects poised for completion by the end of the year. Under construction and planned stock amounted to 8.1 percent of the market’s total office footprint, down…

Flurry of Lease Deals Totals 70 KSF at Miami Tower

Three law firms and a federal government agency have signed a flurry of lease commitments totaling more than 70,000 square feet at Miami Tower located at 100 SE 2nd Street, Sumitomo Corp. of Americas’ landmark, 47-story office asset in downtown Miami. Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP inked a new, 9,726-square-foot lease at the I.M. Pei-designed skyscraper…

An Update on the South Florida Hotel Industry’s Post-COVID Recovery

COVID-19 caused a massive downturn in South Florida’s hotel industry, but an uneven recovery is underway  It goes without saying that COVID-related lockdowns and panic caused a significant slowdown in South Florida’s service economy. Tourism, conventions, and general business travel are vital to the region’s financial stability, given the money they bring in…

Brookfield buys Comcast-leased Miramar building for $29 million

Brookfield Property Group paid $29 million for a Miramar building that is fully leased to Comcast. Brookfield, through an affiliate, bought the property at 15800 Southwest 25th Street from 15800 Building LLC, managed by Arturo Alvarez Demalde of AD4 private equity firm in South Florida, records show. Steve Medwin and Nick Wigoda of Newmark were the…

Feldman Equities buys Fort Lauderdale office complex for $59 million

Feldman Equities bought the Pinnacle Corporate Park office complex in Fort Lauderdale for $58.9 million. The Tampa-based investor bought the two buildings at 500 and 550 West Cypress Creek Road from a fund managed by DRA Advisors in joint venture with Banyan Street Capital, according to a news release. The deal breaks down to $226 per square foot. Brokers for…

Hudson Capital, Barron Commercial honchos buy Oakland Park shopping center for $23M

Longtime South Florida developers Steven Hudson and Charles Ladd Jr. bought an Oakland Park shopping center for $23.4 million. Records show Hudson and Ladd, through an affiliate, bought the Festival Centre at 3400-3570 North Andrews Avenue from Sela LLC, managed by investor Amos Chess. The buyers secured a $12 million loan from Starwood Mortgage…

ShareMD buys Boynton Beach medical office building for nearly $7M

ShareMD bought a Boynton Beach medical office building for $6.5 million, as it continues to invest in healthcare space. Alpharetta, Georgia-based ShareMD bought the building at 2828 South Seacrest Boulevard from Delray Beach-based Redfearn Capital, according to a news release. Elliot LaBreche and Abbe Kind of Easton & Associates represented ShareMD. The 31,747…

LIVWRK in contract to buy Wynwood assemblage from East End Capital

LIVWRK, a Brooklyn-based development firm, is making its first foray into Miami commercial real estate, The Real Deal has learned. The company, led by founder and CEO Asher Abehsera, is under contract to buy a 2.5-acre assemblage in Wynwood, according to sources. East End Capital is selling the properties at 2400 and 2500 North Miami Avenue in Miami. LIVWRK…

Ugo Colombo’s CMC Group sells Brickell Flatiron sales center to Argentine investors

Ugo Colombo’s CMC Group sold the Brickell Flatiron’s sales center for $6.5 million to Argentine investors who plan to build a retail project on the site. The 11,088-square-foot triangle-shaped lot at 1101 South Miami Avenue is immediately south of Brickell Flatiron. CMC affiliate BP Development Holdings LLC sold the property. The buyer is Retail Ocean LLC, according…

Sky-high lumber prices are starting to impact apartment construction

Multifamily developers are starting to feel the pain of sky-high lumber costs. The price of softwood lumber jumped 83 percent from a year ago, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from CoStar Advisory Services. That jump has led to an increase in prices for single-family homes, and now it’s trickling down to developers of apartment buildings, too.

Chart: Miami-Dade Population Shrunk in 2020 for First Time Since 1993

Put me down as surprised, even skeptical. Per the St. Louis Fed, for the first time since 1993 the population shrunk year over year, from 2,711,612 in 2019 to 2,707,303 in 2020. Who knew? This also follows negligible growth in the prior two years. You wouldn’t know it in downtown Miami or in any of the county’s urban centers. Miami’s central business district has…

Mast Capital brings on JV partner Rockpoint to develop Miami Beach condo project

Rockpoint Group bought a stake in Mast Capital’s long-planned Miami Beach condo project. An affiliate of Mast Capital sold the property at 4000 Alton Road to the joint venture for $18.2 million, records show. Coconut Grove-based Mast Capital, led by Camilo Miguel Jr., secured approval from the Miami Beach City Commission in November for a modified version…

22-Story Resi Tower Opening Soon with  312 Transit-Oriented Rentals Connected to Metrorail

Miami’s newest transit-oriented apartments are now available for lease at CORE Link at Douglas, a new 312-unit residential tower which will offer premium amenities, unmatched connectivity, and a central location near the City’s hottest shopping, dining and entertainment destinations. Slated to open in August at 3060 SW 37th Avenue, CORE will become the first…

Argentine architecture firm opening first U.S. office in Miami

Argentine architecture firm Hitzig Militello is opening its first office in the U.S. in Miami, in a bet on the city’s growth as a tech and hospitality hub. The firm, led by architects Fernando Hitzig and Leonardo Militello, will start operating out of the Minds coworking space at 114 Northwest 25th Street in Wynwood in the next month, Militello said. Plans are to eventually open…

Historic Miami Circle Park downtown closing for an upgrade

Miami Circle Park is about to get a long-awaited sprucing up. The park, situated at the confluence of the Miami River and Biscayne Bay, will be closed beginning June 7 while repairs and improvements are underway, said Horacio Stuart Aguirre, chair of the Miami River Commission. The park sits atop the Miami Circle, a 2,000-year-old, historically significant…

Influencers leading the charge in Miami’s tech boom

Miami’s tech boom is real, and as cutting-edge companies flee Silicon Valley, New York and other areas to join start-ups and investors here that are turning the “Magic City” into a prime innovation hub, some local influencers are leading the charge. And it’s likely none comes to mind sooner in that regard than Mayor Francis Suarez, who has courted…

Fintech Startup Nirvana Technology Signs Lease in Wynwood

Miami will soon welcome a new Silicon Valley tenant. Fintech startup Nirvana Technology, headed by tech veteran Bill Harris, signed a three-year lease for 3,700 square feet in Miami’s Wynwood district. Asking rent for the office at 120 NE 27th Street was $38 per square foot, landlord Bill Rammos…

Miami Comes in at #4 on List of Top 10 Markets for Self Storage Rent Growth

On a national level, street-rate rents rose 8 percent for the average 10×10 non-climate-controlled and 9.5 percent for climate-controlled units of similar size, year-over-year as of April. Overall, annual street-rate performance was positive in all of the top markets tracked by Yardi Matrix, for both the standard 10×10 non-climate- and climate-controlled units…

Developers move fast to meet Miami’s growth needs

As Miami continues to rebound from the pandemic, developers are making their mark by building new towers and infrastructure to meet the current and future needs of the city. Rishi Kapoor, “Best of Miami: Leading Residential Comeback” nominee and founder and CEO of Location Ventures, said one leading developer worthy of recognizing is Terra…

Miami Beach hotel on Alton Road heads to foreclosure auction

The owners of the Variety Hotel are almost out of options. The property, at 1700 Alton Road, is heading to a foreclosure auction June 7, nearly a year after a company tied to BridgeInvest filed a foreclosure lawsuit against AC 1700 Alton Owner LLC over an allegedly unpaid $25 million loan. Adam Verner of New York-based Springhouse Partners and Chaim Cahane…

Lagniappe owner acquires Edgewater property & other restaurant news

Lagniappe owner David Tunnell paid $2.5 million to acquire the property he had been leasing since the bar and restaurant opened in 2012 in Edgewater. The deal included a roughly 2,500-square-foot building on a nearly 7,200-square-foot lot, according to Marcus & Millichap broker Jonathan De La Rosa. Tunnell was able to finance the deal using a…

South Florida’s hotel conundrum

The lights are still dark at the Diplomat Beach Resort, a sprawling 1,000-room oceanfront hotel in South Florida. More than a year after the pandemic began, conventions and business travelers — the lifeblood of such large properties — remain sparse. And cruises, which usually feed hordes of passengers to hotels, are still halted. While leisure travelers…

Hotel mogul Sam Nazarian’s new food venture inks office lease in Coconut Grove

SBE Entertainment Group founder Sam Nazarian is forging ahead with his ghost kitchens venture. Nazarian, who last year sold his remaining stake in SBE’s hotel business to French hospitality company Accor, inked a lease for his virtual kitchens platform C3. The company is taking 10,000-square-foot space at 3015 Grand Avenue in Miami’s Coconut Grove. The office…

Is e-commerce king? Retailers reflect on pandemic changes during earnings calls

Many people are excited for shoppers to return, but many have switched to e-commerce. Amid rising vaccination numbers and lifting of Covid-related capacity restrictions nationwide, landlords are eager to see shoppers return to brick-and-mortar stores. But retailers may have different ideas. On their first-quarter earnings calls, executives of major retail brands said…

WeWork reports $2 billion in losses in Q1

WeWork’s financial troubles keep getting worse. The embattled co-working company reported $2.1 billion in losses in the first quarter, according to the Financial Times. WeWork also shed 200,000 members over the last year, about a quarter of its membership. Membership dipped to 490,000 in March, from 693,000 in March 2020. Adding to that, the firm has…

Shahab Karmely, Edgardo Defortuna team up on bulk condo buy at Brickell City Centre

Swire Properties sold the remaining condos at Brickell City Centre in Miami, allowing the developer to move forward with new projects in the area, The Real Deal has learned. A partnership between Shahab Karmely’s KAR Properties and Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune International Group acquired the 81 units at Reach and Rise for an undisclosed amount, with plans…

Development trio plans 340-unit multifamily complex near Homestead

A mixed-use, multifamily project with up to 340 units is to rise north of Homestead on land now used mostly as a scrap yard. The development trio of Jose Canero, Simon Ferro and Carlos Fernandez plans to build the complex on 5.4 acres at 29055 Southwest 162nd Avenue, after scoring county zoning approval this week. The project will include 3,000 square…

Lack Of Land Has Industrial Developers Looking To Take Over Florida’s Golf Courses, Lakes And The Everglades

As senior vice president for Duke Realty, Stephanie Rodriguez oversees a portfolio of industrial properties in South and Central Florida, a geography with limited space and shrinking new development options. “We’re all fighting over the same pieces of dirt,” Rodriguez said during a May 12 Bisnow South Florida Industrial Update event. “… Industrial is the darling…”

Miami board approves projects in Wynwood and Little Havana

Miami’s Urban Development Review board approved The Collective Wynwood, a co-living project in Wynwood at 2825 NW 2nd Ave, and Paseo Del Rio, the Related Group’s mixed-income apartment building at 1401 NW 7th St near Marlins Park… an eight- to 12-story co-living building with 180 residential units, 70 lodging rooms and 9,508 square feet of… retail.

Alto Real Estate buys Lincoln Road retail building for $19M

Alto Real Estate Funds bought a Lincoln Road building for $18.9 million, marking the third South Beach retail deal so far this month. Gombinski Properties sold the property at 900-904 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach to Alto Real Estate, which offers several funds to investors, according to deal broker Ran Ziv. Ziv and Sean Shahad Ziv, both of GLT Group Brokerage…

ALTO Real Estate Funds Purchases Lincoln Road Retail Property in Miami Beach for $18.9M

ALTO Real Estate Funds has purchased a 7,142-square-foot retail property located in Miami Beach for $18.9 million. The property is situated along Lincoln Road, Miami Beach’s high street retail corridor. The seller was Gombinski Properties, who bought the property in 1985. Ran Ziv and Sean Shahar Ziv of GLT Group Brokerage represented the seller and the buyer.

Saks CEO: Work-from-home is “culture killer,” office must be default

Many companies are grappling with what office culture will look like in a post-pandemic world. For Saks, one thing is certain: The office will go back to being its primary workplace, with employees expected back at its Brookfield Place headquarters in September, the New York Times reported. The company’s CEO, Marc Metrick, aims to make a statement about…

House Democrats consider curtailing Biden’s inheritance tax plan

The Biden administration proposed dramatically expanding the inheritance tax on wealthy Americans. House Democrats are pumping the brakes. Democratic lawmakers are discussing a range of alternatives that would weaken Biden’s ambitious plans for taxing estates’ capital gains, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. In an effort to finance social programs as part…

Seagis Property Group pays $8 million for Medley industrial building with cold storage

The warehouse property in Medley (Google Maps) Seagis Property Group bought a Medley warehouse with cold storage space for $7.9 million. The Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based logistic real estate investor bought the vacant building at 12800 Northwest 113th Court from Land Quest Enterprises, according to the brokers for the deal. Jose Sasson and…

CRE investors hedge bets in suburbs despite hope for urban office revival

Commercial real estate investors have high hopes that major office markets will return to normal in the near future, but most aren’t betting on it just yet. Nearly three-quarters of real estate industry professionals believe that office leasing velocity in major cities will return to pre-pandemic levels within the next four years, according to a new survey…

Regal Acquisitions pays $34 million for CVS-anchored retail at Boulan South Beach hotel

Regal Acquisitions bought the CVS-anchored retail at the Boulan South Beach hotel for $34 million. The New York City-based investment firm bought the two-story retail at 2000 Collins Avenue and the retail at the garage at 237 20th Street from an affiliate of PGIM Real Estate and Madison Capital, records show. Regal Acquisitions took out a $22.1 million a…

The return to the workplace is re-shaping the workspace

As more Americans get vaccinated, the return-to-office movement is gathering steam. Companies that a month ago were merely speculating about recalling workers are now setting firm deadlines. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told staff to start reporting to the office part-time by July, a move widely interpreted as a signal to other Wall Street firms that…

Florida Realtors organization sues CDC “landlord-in-chief” over eviction ban

The largest Realtors association in the country is the latest to sue the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over its ban on evictions, which is set to expire June 30. Florida Realtors filed the federal suit, alleging many of its 200,000 members who handle residential leases have been “detrimentally impacted…”

Only 14% of restaurants closed permanently because of pandemic

The number of restaurant casualties resulting from the pandemic may be far less than expected. The National Restaurant Association found that 90,000 restaurants — approximately 14 percent of all eateries — across the U.S. have closed permanently or long-term, according to Bloomberg News. It was once predicted that one-third would shutter. In a normal year…

Fleet of LNG cruise ships anticipated at PortMiami

PortMiami expects an influx of liquefied natural gas-powered cruise ships to arrive through 2027, and Miami-Dade commissioners want Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s office to look at how best to accommodate the new vessels’ needs. Commissioners in committee this month unanimously advanced a resolution by Rebeca Sosa that would direct Ms. Levine…

MMG Equity buys Plantation shopping center for $12M

MMG Equity Partners bought a Plantation retail center for $12 million. The Pinecrest-based investor bought Plantation Square at 1723-1797 North University Drive. The firm plans $2.4 million in capital improvements, including to the facade, stucco, lighting and landscaping, said Marcos Puente, MMG Equity Partners’ acquisitions director. Pacific National…

Looking Into the Future of Cities

“Unprecedented” was and continues to be one of the most frequently used words to describe the current state of affairs in the world. The pandemic has become the number one threat to the health and well-being of each person, and its impact will be felt for years to come. COVID-19 has also played the role of an accelerator of the trends that were already…

A Q&A With Developer Yair Levy on Re-imagining Downtown Miami’s Diamond & Jewelry District

Why did you decide to focus not only on the Miami Real Estate market but specifically in the diamond and jewelry district in downtown Miami?
When I began looking for commercial real estate investment opportunities in Miami, one of my first stops was in the jewelry and diamond district in the heart of downtown. I was shocked to find that some of the most…

South Florida’s Outlying Markets, From Belle Glade to Treasure Coast, Heat Up

For years, economic developers in Palm Beach County pitched the rural Glades region as an up-and-coming area for industrial development. And for years, splashy deals failed to materialize. That recently changed, when Apopka-based Finfrock, a maker of precast concrete buildings, bought 94 acres on the site of a former state prison in Belle Glade, located just off…

MMG Equity Partners Acquires Plantation Square for $12 Million

MMG Equity Partners has acquired Plantation Square, a 65,796 sf retail strip center located in Plantation, FL., for $12,000,000 or $182 psf.  The property is located at 1723-1797 N University Drive, Plantation, FL., Pacific National Bank provided the buyer with an $10,157,000 acquisition and construction loan. Plantation Square…

Kushner Companies wins approval for four-tower mixed-use project in downtown Fort Lauderdale

Kushner Companies won approval to bring a four-tower, mixed-use development to downtown Fort Lauderdale, with 1,300 apartments, office and retail, and possibly a hotel. Construction of the Broward Boulevard project is expected to start in the first quarter of 2022 and finish in phases in 2026, Laurent Morali, president of New York-based Kushner Companies…

Mesirow buys Fort Lauderdale multifamily complex for $84M

Mesirow Financial bought a Fort Lauderdale multifamily complex for $83.5 million. The Chicago-based financial services firm bought Elan 16Forty at 1600-1700 East Sunrise Boulevard from GS Sunrise Subsidiary, an affiliate of Greystar and PGIM Real Estate, according to records. Charleston, South Carolina-based Greystar, led by Bob Faith…

Related Companies buys West Palm Beach office tower for $175M

Related Companies bought the CityPlace Tower in downtown West Palm Beach for $175 million, marking the company’s second major office purchase there this year. Related, led by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, bought the 18-story building at 525 Okeechobee Boulevard from CPT Equity, an affiliate of Greenwich, Connecticut-based W. R. Berkley…

Related Group sells Royal Palm Beach apartments for $119M

The complex at 10900 Town Circle is shown with (from left) Group chair and CEO Jorge Pérez and President Jon Paul Pérez and Pantzer Properties co-CEOs Jason and Jordan Pantzer, The Related Group sold a Royal Palm Beach multifamily complex for $119.4 million. New York-based Pantzer Properties, through an affiliate, bought the 392-unit community…

Related Cos.’ $175M Buying Spree in West Palm Beach

Related Cos. has expanded its downtown West Palm Beach, Fla., office footprint with the $175 million purchase of CityPlace Tower, as first reported by the South Florida Business Journal and confirmed by public records. The seller, W.R. Berkley Corp., picked up the 18-story, 297,652-square-foot asset in 2014, for $150 million, according to…

Bill Seidle’s Nissan dealership buys Doral building for $16M

A Nissan dealership bought a Doral building where it operates its service center for $16 million. An affiliate of Bill Seidle’s Nissan, which sells and repairs vehicles, bought the property at 10688 Northwest 12th Street from The Miami International Grantor Trust, according to public records. The trust, whose trustee is accounting firm DiSanto, Priest & Company…

Multifamily developer buys piece of Little Havana assemblage

A market-rate multifamily developer paid $15 million for land in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. Premium Development bought the 2.3-acre property at 700 West Flagler Street from Presidente Supermarkets, according to a broker involved in the deal, Carlos Fausto Miranda of Fausto Commercial. Premium Development, an Austrian company that has…

13th Floor Investments, Adler Group to Open 22-Story Apartment Tower in Miami

Developers 13th Floor Investments and Adler Group have opened leasing for CORE Link at Douglas, a new 312-unit residential tower underway in Miami. Slated to open in August at 3060 SW 37th Aveenue, CORE will become the first tower to open at Link at Douglas, a seven-acre mixed-use development located adjacent to Miami’s Metrorail and The Underline…

In Coconut Grove — Miami’s ‘Neighborhood With A Soul’ — Retail Is Reimagined

When retail plaza CocoWalk opened in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood in 1990, the three-story, open-air mall was the place to stop for a fro-yo, a fruity cocktail or some khakis. Planet Hollywood, Cheesecake Factory, Gap — big retail tenants all cycled through over the years. Now, as CocoWalk emerges from a multimillion-dollar renovation and another…

South Florida Retail Real Estate Summary: Leases, Sales & Construction Projects

Market Snapshot for South Florida Retail Real Estate A summary of the statistical highlights, latest retail transactions, vacancy / lease trends, and current market activity for South Florida commercial real estate focusing on Miami-Dade County. The retail real estate report is updated every quarter by our CRE experts. The analysis is derived and compiled from…

Eichner plans waterfront condo projects in Bay Harbor Islands

Continuum South Beach developer Ian Bruce Eichner acquired two waterfront sites from Bay Harbor Islands-based Taubco, with plans to build two condo projects. Eichner’s Continuum Company paid $29.5 million for the land at 9201 and 9461 East Bay Harbor Drive, according to a press release. He’s planning to build two buildings with a combined 142 units…

Miami Beach “declared war” on nightlife, Clevelander alleges in lawsuit

The Clevelander South Beach’s owner is suing the city of Miami Beach, alleging that the rollback of alcohol-serving hours, the removal of noise exemptions, and the closure to vehicular traffic on its street have ruined its multimillion-dollar investment at the Art Deco hotel on Ocean Drive. The lawsuit comes in response to the rollback of alcohol-serving hours…

Downtown Miami dev site zoned for 80-story tower hits the market

The assemblage in downtown Miami A downtown Miami investor is looking to sell his assemblage near Miami Dade College’s Wolfson campus. The 1-acre assemblage at 222 Northeast First Avenue, and 50 and 60 Northeast Third Street, hit the market unpriced. The three lots are zoned T6-80-O, which means they can be developed into an 80-story tower, or even…

Wynwood project’s design returns to win Round Two

A plan to construct a 12-story building containing commercial space and workforce housing in Wynwood garnered the approval of the Wynwood Design Review Committee after some recommended changes were made. The owner-developer, New Urban Development LLC, plans to construct View 29 at 2901 NW Second Ave. At its April meeting the committee…

New construction OK’d at 70-year-old MiMo motel

A 70-year-old motel in the MiMo or Miami Modern Historic District will be allowed some new construction after a recent decision of the city’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board. At its May meeting the board unanimously approved a request from Domingo Rodriguez, on behalf of owner Sandip Patel, to make alterations to the motel at 6200 Biscayne…

Estate Companies scores $76M construction loan for North Miami Beach apartments

The Estate Companies will start building a North Miami Beach apartment project, after scoring a $76 million construction loan. The South Miami-based group is developing the 367-unit Soleste NoMi Beach on 1.8 waterfront acres at 16395 Biscayne Boulevard, according to a news release. Little Rock, Arkansas-based Bank OZK is the lender. The 23-story…

Estate Cos. Lands $76M Loan for Miami Project

The Estate Cos. has secured a $76 million construction loan for its latest luxury Miami-area community. JLL’s Brian Gaswirth and Michael DiCosimo brokered the construction financing for Soleste NoMi Beach between the developer and lender, Bank OZK. The 23-story community is expected to break ground this quarter and will span 685,957 square feet. The luxury…

Ocean Drive property owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan lists for $45M

It’s time for the listing agents of an Ocean Drive property owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan to get on their feet and make a sale happen. The Estefans listed the mixed-use commercial building at 820 Ocean Drive in Miami Beach for $45 million, an online listing shows. They’ve owned the Shore Park Hotel property for nearly 30 years. It is the longtime home…

Developers’ attempts to change Opportunity Zone boundaries fail

Developers who had hoped for potential expansion of Opportunity Zones won’t be getting their way. The Internal Revenue Services announced last week that the boundaries of about 8,700 Opportunity Zones “were established at the time they were designated and are not subject to change,” Bloomberg News reported. Developers and investors had lobbied…

Doral Seeks To Take Over Business-Rich County Lands

Doral wants to absorb two square miles on its southwestern corner that contain big-name commercial and industrial tenants. Miami-Dade is now reviewing the annexation request. If the county approves Doral’s application, business additions to the city will include tenants at 436-acre Beacon Lakes Industrial Park, which hosts distribution centers…

Tibor Hollo, Pam Liebman and Housing Trust Group latest to donate to Miami mayor’s campaign

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s public relations campaign is continuing to pay off for his run for re-election. Since mid April, Suarez has raised an additional $777,000 from real estate, healthcare, tech and private equity, according to state and local campaign finance records. That brings his total raised via his campaign and his political action committee, Miami…

Demand for short-term rentals surges past pre-pandemic levels

It’s gearing up to be the best summer ever — for short-term vacation rentals. Last month, demand for short-term rentals was 5.4 percent greater than in the same period of 2019, according to data from AirDNA reported by Inman, and 66.4 percent more than last year. Read more Bonkers season on tap for summer vacation rentals Covid-19 brings single-family rentals…

Deco Capital moves forward with new version of long-planned Sunset Harbour mixed-use development

A mixed-use development backed by the family office of Marc Rowan, the billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management, is moving forward in Miami Beach’s Sunset Harbour neighborhood. Deco Capital Group secured Miami Beach commission approval on Wednesday for its latest iteration of the project, now called Eighteen Sunset. The five-story building…

Fight Over Miami Curfew Takes On Racial Tone, As Business Owners Blame Hip-Hop Culture

The Miami Beach City Commission on Wednesday voted 4-3 to roll back alcohol serving times from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. in the beachfront Entertainment District along famous Ocean Drive. It will affect businesses on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue from Fifth to 16th streets. The issue pitted some of Miami’s top developers and investors against one another. But it also…

Cold-storage to classrooms: School pays $13M for Doral warehouse, retrofitting as campus

A private school bought a Doral warehouse for $13.2 million, with plans to retrofit it and reopen the facility as a campus next year. Shelton Academy, a Catholic school for students pre-K through high school, bought the property at 9455 Northwest 40th Street Road. It was previously used as cold-storage by food distributor Swiss Chalet Fine Foods, according to a broker…

Miami Beach residents rally against proposed hotel in Sunset Harbour

The Miami Beach City Commission moved forward with approving a zoning overlay district in Sunset Harbour that encourages office development, as some residents tried to stop a hotel project in the same neighborhood from being grandfathered in. The overlay district, which was passed on first reading at Wednesday’s meeting and will head to a second reading vote…

Location Ventures buys South Beach office, retail property for $20M

Location Ventures scooped up two commercial buildings along Miami Beach’s Washington Avenue for $20 million. The Coral Gables-based real estate investor bought the retail property at 1260 Washington Avenue and the adjacent office building at 1234 Washington Avenue from an affiliate of Miami Beach-based Fryd Properties, led by Jonathan Fryd, records…

Alcohol rollback on Ocean Drive pits developers against business owners

The Miami Beach City Commission’s vote to roll back alcohol hours in South Beach to 2 a.m. was met with support from prominent developers Jorge Pérez, Don Peebles and Barry Sternlicht, as well as the threat of a lawsuit from the Clevelander hotel. The commission voted to move up last call by three hours from 5 a.m. only in the mixed entertainment district…

CRE Confrontation Pressures Developers To Improve Pay, Conditions

About 10 janitors and union organizers on Monday afternoon confronted developers in Downtown Doral, Codina Partners’ massive mixed-use development near Miami, over alleged unfair labor practices. Seven janitors allegedly lost their jobs after they tried to organize a union and Codina switched cleaning contractors. Service Employees…

Regalia association scores $18M settlement in construction defects lawsuit

The Regalia condo association settled its lawsuit alleging a slew of construction and design defects and building code violations at the luxury oceanfront tower for $17.5 million. In 2018, the Regalia on the Ocean Condominium Association sued the developers, architect, general contractor and subcontractors over alleged flaws such as improperly…

Development site near MiamiCentral hits the market

A downtown Miami development site where an 80-story tower could be built hit the market. The property, across from Brightline’s MiamiCentral station, could sell for more than $40 million, according to the listing brokers. The Citadel Arena Corporation is selling the nearly 1-acre site at 49 Northwest Fifth Street, which includes a parking lot and a three-story…

Miami To Get A $300 Million Eco-Adventure Park And Hotel

Miami’s Jungle Island will be receiving a $300 million facelift, which will include a new aerial adventure course with zip lines, animal encounters, water attractions, entertainment and nightlife, and a new hotel. ESJ Capital Partners (ESJ), an Aventura, FL-based commercial real estate firm, has secured the final approvals necessary to move forward with developing…

New Laws Benefit Developers, But Will They Hurt Local Governments?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is being asked to veto several bills that passed the Florida legislature and are now poised to become law, with critics alleging they would benefit real estate interests but hurt local governments, ordinary citizens and the environment. The Daytona Beach News-Journal Editorial Board opined that 2021’s annual lawmaking session…

Fresh Recruits Mitigate Pandemic’s Blows to South Florida Office Leasing

Office tenants new to South Florida – many with roots on Wall Street – are easing the impact of the COVID-19 recession on office owners and developers, particularly in Miami and West Palm Beach. The biggest city between them, Fort Lauderdale has been bypassed by corporate newcomers looking for ample space in South Florida. But that may change as a…

Duke Realty Starts 500K SF Spec Development In Miami

The South Florida office of Duke Realty Corporation is breaking ground on a speculative development totaling 501,224 square feet of logistics space. The planned project is the second of two distribution facilities in Duke Realty’s Miami 27 Business Park in Medley. The development is immediately adjacent to U.S. Highway 27, with convenient connectivity to the Florida…

Industrial facility serving Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, other events sells for $29M

Realterm Logistics bought a Fort Lauderdale industrial facility used by major local events for $28.6 million. The Annapolis, Maryland-based industrial and logistics real estate investor bought the property at 1900 Northwest 21st Avenue from an affiliate of Jonathan Cox, founder and

Shoma pays $16M for North Bay Village site, plans Publix-anchored apartment project

North Bay Village is poised to get a 19-story multifamily and retail project anchored by Publix. Masoud Shojaee’s Shoma Group bought a development site, consisting of a 1.8-acre parking lot at 1850 79th Street Causeway and the next-door retail building at 1872 79th Causeway, for $15.8 million, records show. Shoma Bay will feature an apartment building with 333..

Affordable housing developer buys piece of Little Havana assemblage

The site and renderings of Premium Development’s nearby project. (Premium Development) An affordable housing developer paid $15 million for land in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. Premium Development bought the 2.3-acre property at 700 West Flagler Street from Presidente Supermarkets, according to a broker involved in the deal…

UOVO scoops up art storage facilities in Miami, West Palm Beach in $50M buy

Making a bet on South Florida’s growth as an art mecca, New York-based UOVO bought a local art logistics provider and its storage centers in Miami and West Palm Beach for $50 million. UOVO, led by Miami-based real estate developer Steven Guttman, bought Museo Vault, including its art storage facility in Miami, five art transport vehicles and an in-house crafting…

Monarch paying $300M for downtown Miami’s Citigroup Center office tower

Monarch Alternative Capital agreed to acquire a 90 percent stake in a downtown Miami office tower for $300 million, The Real Deal has learned. Monarch is taking over Townsend Group’s interest in Citigroup Center, a 34-story office building and adjacent nine-story parking garage at 201 South Biscayne Boulevard, according to sources familiar with the…

Duke Realty Breaks Ground on 501K SF Project Northeast of Miami International Airport

Duke Realty Corp. has started work on a speculative logistics building that will span more than half a million square feet northeast of Miami International Airport, amid a shortage of modern industrial space in the area. The new project is the second of two distribution facilities in the company’s Miami 27 Business Park in Medley, Fla., a small community…

Shelton Academy Picks Up Doral Cold Storage Site for $13 million

Even as the industrial sector booms thanks to a surge in online shopping, some buyers are still repurposing warehouses. Private school Shelton Academy has acquired a 75,164-square-foot cold storage facility in Doral, Fl., for $13.2 million, according to information from Cushman & Wakefield. The property, at 9455 NW 40th Street Road is located 12 miles west of…

Miami Market Update: An Emerging Hotspot for Office Transactions

As the pandemic’s effects still loom over the office sector, sales have continued to contract in most U.S. markets. Miami and Phoenix seem to be the exceptions, according to CommercialEdge data, recording year-on-year growth both in transaction volume, and average price per square foot. Blackstone’s $230 million Florida expansion in March made a significant…

Boutique Offices Make a Comeback in Miami

As hybrid work models become the new norm, companies are moving away from congested urban cores in search of boutique offerings, targeting move-in ready office suites. With outdoor meeting areas and reimagined workspaces, the most appealing properties are taking shape in areas with commercial activity that also allow for flexibility in employees’ commutes.

Redwood, Winston Capital Nearing Completion of Workforce Housing Community in Opa-Locka

Redwood National Properties LLC and Winston Capital Partners LLC are co-developing The Mirage at Sailboat Cove, a new workforce housing community in Opa Locka. Upon completion, the property will offer 112 townhome units featuring four-bedroom and 2.5-bathroom floorplans available to low- and middle-income residents. The Mirage at Sailboat…

Latigo Group to Open Pomelo Apartments in Miami Gardens

The Latigo Group, a residential developer based in Los Angeles, is nearing completion of The Pomelo, a new, seven-story mid-rise multifamily community in Miami Gardens. The property will feature 259 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, all with modern finishes. Designed by local interior designer Moniomo, The Pomelo will feature keyless entry…

Ex-PayPal CEO Bill Harris will hire 200 for new Miami startup

Bill Harris, the former CEO of PayPal Holdings and Intuit, is the latest financial technology executive to launch a new company in Miami. On Tuesday, Harris announced he moved to the Magic City, where he’ll open the headquarters of his newest venture, Nirvana Technology. The company, based in Miami’s Wynwood, plans to hire up to 200 people for…

#Miamitech, Wall Street of the South: These Tech and VC Firms are Investing in Miami

“What if we move Silicon Valley to Miami?” This off-the-cuff tweet by Venture Capitalist Delian Asparouhov caught the eye of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who replied with a simple “How can I help?” This short conversation started a movement. Literally. The phrase has become a de facto slogan for Miami, in general, and a signal to tax- and regulation…

Downtown Miami Revitalization Begins with Flagler Street Makeover

After several years of planning, the City of Miami is finally moving forward with its long-awaited plan for revitalizing Downtown by revamping the Flagler Street corridor. The Downtown Flagler Street project’s principal objective is to return the cultural and commercial viability of Flagler Street by improving and beautifying the corridor, transforming it into a…

Video: How climate change puts real estate at risk

Where should you invest when seas are rising, temperatures and going up, and extreme weather events are looming? “There is no place on earth that is completely safe and no risk,” CBRE Global Investors’ Aleksandra (Sasha) Njagulj said in the latest installation of TRD Tips. “It doesn’t really depend that much on the building type or use… where the risks become more…

Sale Of Doral Industrial Land Site Negotiated

Fortuna Real Estate purchased the parcel located at 10405 NW 19th Street from Inter Dolphin Property LLC for $3,650,000. The deal closed April 30. The parcel is located within International Corporate Park, a 300-acre, Class A business campus encompassing more than 4 million square feet of industrial, office and retail space. The land site is north of the Dolphin…

Hand over the money: JP Morgan Chase loses lawsuit over North Miami branch rent increases

The JP Morgan Chase North Miami branch and attorney Howard DuBosar JP Morgan Chase will have to pay much more rent for it’s North Miami branch after a federal judge sided with the bank’s landlord. For the last two years, the bank had refused to pay annual rent increases for a one-story commercial building at 14590 Biscayne Boulevard that JP Morgan Chase…

2021 is raining dollar stores as near of new shops will be discount retailers

Cost-conscious consumers have gotten the attention of retailers. Nearly half of the 3,597 stores expected to open nationwide this year will be no-frills discount shops, according to a report from Coresight Research. Dollar General will open 1,035 locations, Dollar Tree will cut the ribbon on 393 stores and Family Dollar will open up 200 shops. Dollar Tree also…

National chains paid 93% of rent in April

In April 2020, one month after pandemic-related lockdowns started in much of the U.S., national chains such as Ann Taylor, Bob’s Discount Furniture, Men’s Wearhouse and Tilly’s did not pay any of their rent. One year and the lifting of many restrictions later, those retailers have all returned to paying 90 percent or more. Rent collections for national chains…

FECI plans Countyline Corporate Park expansion with $33 million construction loan

Florida East Coast Industries is adding two warehouses to Countyline Corporate Park in Hialeah, after scoring a $32.8 million construction loan. Miami-based FECI secured the financing for buildings 27 and 28, at 4181 and 4241 West 108th Street, from Wells Fargo. It notified Miami-Dade County that it is starting construction, according to records. Each…

Chetrit scores $63 million construction loan for long-planned Collins Park hotel in Miami Beach

The Chetrit Group scored a financing lifeline for its long-planned Collins Park hotel redevelopment, The Real Deal has learned. New York-based Chetrit landed a $62.5 million construction loan for the project, according to sources. Chetrit has owned the property for nearly a decade. Maxim Capital Group, which declined to comment, is the lender. Robert Verrone’s Iron…

Doral seeks to take over business-rich county lands

Doral wants to absorb two square miles on its southwestern corner that contain big-name commercial and industrial tenants. Miami-Dade is now reviewing the annexation request. If the county approves Doral’s application, business additions to the city will include tenants at 436-acre Beacon Lakes Industrial Park, which hosts distribution centers for…

Public-private Miami administration building deal nears

The City of Miami’s administration team could finally be moving away from the Miami Riverside Center in a public-private development deal with the Adler Group. City commissioners are to vote today (5/13) on whether a new headquarters building will be located as long planned at the Nexus site at 230 SW Third Street. This formal decision on the site is necessary for…

Navigation district funds pivotal to save Henry Flagler worker’s home

The Miami River Commission has for many years been asking the City of Miami to clean up Fort Dallas Park – and, most urgently, to save Palm Cottage, a unique piece of the city’s early history now located within the park’s gates – from the ravages of time. Recent interest from the Florida Inland Navigation District, or FIND, could come to the rescue.

Miami Beach may sell six city properties

Miami Beach staff have targeted six city properties that could sell for a total of over $70 million that could then fund capital improvements.  The big-ticket sale in the group would be the land that currently houses the soon-to-be-moved North Shore Branch Library at 7505 Collins Ave., which is estimated to be worth $58 million to $65 million, according to a…

Melo Group affiliate plans twin Edgewater towers

A developer is proposing twin towers of 15 stories, bringing apartments, office space and retail to a prominent corner in Miami’s Edgewater district. The development, URBAN22, also includes an eight-story building in back and a parking pedestal for 529 vehicles. Cardinal Plaza Corp., affiliated with the Melo Group, plans to construct URBAN 22 at 2200 NE Second Avenue.

Bridge Investment Launches Abridge Flex Office Space Program; Starting with Miami, Other Select Markets

Anticipating increased demand for flexible office spaces in suburban markets, Bridge Commercial Real Estate, the commercial brokerage subsidiary of Bridge Investment Group, has launched Abridge, a flex office program starting in five high-growth U.S. markets that expects to deliver about 1 million square feet of inventory across Bridge’s national office…

Simon says suburbia is hot, raises guidance for 2021

After a devastating year of mall closures and tenant bankruptcies, Simon Property Group raised its guidance, saying that people are returning to its retail centers. “We are encouraged with what we are seeing in terms of sales traffic,” said David Simon, CEO of Simon Property Group, during the company’s first-quarter earnings call. “Suburbia is hot, suburbia is the…”

New Uses for Vacant Retail Anchor Spaces

Both prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, many well-known retailers that occupied anchor spaces at the ends of malls and shopping centers made the difficult decision to close their doors permanently. Malls were hit especially hard as large department store chains (such as Sears) closed many of their locations, leaving behind empty blocks of…

Gambling portability a no-go in Florida this year for Jeffrey Soffer, Trump

Jeffrey Soffer will not be able to move his casino license to his Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel, at least for this year. Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson told CBS Miami that Soffer will not be able to transfer his casino license from his Big Easy Casino in Hallandale Beach. He said that former President Trump would also not be able to transfer…

Video: Optimizing the office & the new workplace normal

CREtech CEO Michael Beckerman declared that he “can call BS” on the idea that the office is dead. Michael Beckerman To him, and to each of the speakers who participated in the TRD Brand Studio’s first-ever webinar, the future of work is flexible. Beckerman sat down with some of the biggest names in the flex-office space for a forward-looking conversation on…

Arbor Management buys multifamily dev site near Aventura for $10M

Arbor Management Acquisition Company paid $10.3 million for a multifamily and retail development site near Aventura. The New York-based firm, through its AMAC Holdings III, will develop Aventura Park in joint venture with Coral Gables-based ROVR Development on 3 acres at 17990 West Dixie Highway, according to a news release. The mixed…

Thoma Bravo signs major lease in Brickell, UFC Gym inks one at Doral Square, & other Miami leasing highlights

Thoma Bravo expanded to Miami. The firm signed a long-term lease at 830 Brickell, a 55-story office building under construction in the Brickell Financial District. Thoma Bravo will occupy roughly 36,500 square feet on the two top floors. Thoma Bravo expects to open its office at 830 Brickell in the fourth quarter of 2022. Cushman & Wakefield represented…

Inflation Watch April 2021: 5 Year TIPS Spread Levels Out, Predicting 2.5% Inflation, as 10-Year Continues Climb

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 5-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate, commonly referred to as the TIPS Spread, a measure of expected inflation derived from 5-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Securities and 5-Year Treasury Inflation-Indexed Constant Maturity Securities, for the 5 years ending 4/30/21 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 5-Year Breakeven…

Industry Leaders Discuss Construction Delivery Methods and Potential Pitfalls

On March 3, 2021, Bilzin Sumberg hosted its annual South Florida Redevelopment Conference.  During one of the sessions, the leaders of our firm’s Construction Law Group, Joy Spillis Lundeen and Felix X. Rodriguez, were joined by Brad Meltzer, Chairman and CEO of Plaza Construction, and William O’Donnell, Managing Principal of Desimone Consulting Engineers…

Job recovery sputters, but hospitality & leisure add hiring

A weaker-than-expected month for job gains had one bright spot, and it’s the same sector that has been leading employment for several months now. The leisure and hospitality sector led employment gains for the third straight month, bringing back 330,000 workers in April. Restaurants and bars did more than half the hiring, while recreation centers…

Rents rise across country as economy rebounds

Rents are going up, which is bad news for tenants staring down eviction. The median monthly charge on a vacant rental saw a $185 annual jump in March, Bloomberg News reported, citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In April, rents rose nearly 2 percent, the biggest jump since 2017. Those increases, along with the uneven economic recovery…

Lument Closes $12.8 Million Fannie Mae Loan for Multifamily Community in Hialeah, Florida

Lument recently announced the closing of a $12.8 million Fannie Mae conventional multifamily loan to facilitate the refinance of Civica, a 92-unit, garden-style apartment community in Hialeah, Florida, in Miami-Dade County. In addition to providing high-quality rental housing, Civica features four bottom floor retail spaces to benefit the surrounding community.

The Astor Companies closes sale of Merrick Manor retail condominium

Merrick Manor, a luxury mixed-use building in Coral Gables, has announced the sale of a retail condominium. In the transaction, a South American investor purchased a 1,115-square-foot space occupied by Elegance Beauty Salon for $1.03 million. Elegance offers specialized services for hair, nails, makeup and eyebrow threading. Elegance is part of…

No room in the warehouse: Amazon fuels shortage

Amazon takes up warehouse space — a lot of it. It’s to the point where the vacancy rate is so low in some North American cities that their economies could be throttled, according to Colliers International Group and CBRE reports cited by Bloomberg News. The warehouse vacancy rate in Toronto shrunk to 0.5 percent as Amazon snatched up warehouses in response…

Alliance Residential buys site, scores $46 million construction loan for senior apartments in Delray Beach

A 187-unit apartment complex for seniors is on tap west of Delray Beach, after the developer bought the site and scored a $45.7 million construction loan. Alliance Residential Company, based in Phoenix, Arizona, bought the land at 6595 Morikami Park Road from an affiliate of Miami-based Millennium Management for $8.2 million, records show. Dallas-based…

Banyan Street Capital buys Weston office complex for $52 million

Banyan Street Capital bought the renovated Weston Corporate Center for $52.25 million. The Miami-based office investor bought the two-building complex at 2500 Weston Road and 2700 South Commerce Parkway from Newport Beach, California-based KBS, according to a news release. Christian Lee and José Lobón of CBRE represented KBS in the deal.

Bell Partners buys Fort Lauderdale apartments for $100 million

Bell Partners bought a 279-unit Fort Lauderdale multifamily complex for $99.5 million. The Greensboro, North Carolina-based multifamily investor and manager bought the Satori Apartments at 1015, 1111 and 1201 East Sunrise Boulevard from Greystar, according to a deed. The deal equates $356,631 per unit. Bell Partners, founded in 1976 and led by Jon Bell…