Project manager dies from injuries in Miami Beach building collapse

A project manager died Friday from his injuries in what appeared to be a flawed effort to demolish the old Marlborough House condominium in Miami Beach. AlliedBean Demolition project manager Samuel Landis, a 46-year-old father and Lighthouse Point resident, had been in critical condition since July 23, when the Marlborough House collapsed after it was prepared for demolition. Landis was hit…

Growing Demand Shapes Miami

South Florida’s favorable tax environment, affordable cost of living and diverse economy contributes to Miami’s reputation of an ever-growing market. The metro mainly depends on organic expansion rather than large-scale corporate migration. Brightline, the high-speed rail service from All Aboard Florida, is a major step toward an elaborate infrastructure. The project will benefit the metro’s economic…

$23 Million Sale of Industrial Campus Near Miami Airport Secured

Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the $23 million sale of Airport East Distribution Center, a 397,585-square-foot industrial campus located at 7000 N.W. 32nd Avenue, roughly five miles north of Miami International Airport. Wayne Ramoski, Mike Davis, Gian Rodriguez, Rick Brugge and Michael Lerner of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the transaction on behalf of the seller, Equitable Real Estate Partners.

Topgolf to Open Second Miami-Area Location on Friday

Golf entertainment concept Topgolf will open its second Miami-area location on Friday, Aug. 10. The three-level, 65,000-square-foot venue is located at 11850 N.W. 22nd Street in Doral, roughly 15 miles northwest of Miami. Topgolf features food and beverage options, big screen TVs, private event spaces and music in climate-controlled hitting bays. The entertainment concept has four existing locations…

Brightline’s Boost to Multifamily Development

Many expected the Brightline high-speed rail system to boost South Florida’s economy. So far, its biggest impact has been to spur multifamily development in the urban cores. As of July, there are 6,400 apartment units under construction within a half-mile radius of the three South Florida Brightline stations. There has not yet been a measurable impact on other commercial real estate variables, such as…

Construction Surge Dilutes Rent Growth in Miami

Miami’s multifamily market remains relatively healthy amid population and job gains, producing growth across asset classes, as rent increases continue to be on par with the national figure. However, following another record-breaking year for deliveries, the metro is on the verge of oversupply, with the accelerated rhythm of inventory expansion expected to linger. The metro added 24,000 jobs in the 12…

KHP Capital Partners pays $109M for Key West Inns

A San Francisco private equity firm just paid $109 million for the Key West Inns, a portfolio of six boutique hotels in Key West. Julie Fondriest, who began assembling the 222-key portfolio in 1997, sold the Key Lime Inn, Lighthouse Court, Albury Court, Merlinn Inn, Chelsea House and Cypress House to KHP Capital Partners, a hotel investment firm that also owns the Hilton Key Largo, a 200-room…

Miami orders audit of Melreese Golf Course as it seeks retail-office-soccer complex

What exactly has been going on behind the scenes at the Melreese golf course in Miami? City of Miami officials are seeking to find out. The city-owned property, about 131 acres with an 18-hole golf course, has been thrust into the spotlight this summer after David Beckham and his business partners showed an interest in securing the site for redevelopment and home to a new professional soccer…

Tri-Rail targets third quarter 2019 runs to downtown Miami

Mobility options are expected to widen for residents in Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach late next year. Tri-Rail trains are to arrive in downtown Miami by the third quarter of 2019, opening up a larger labor force to employers and more access to attractions and entertainment across South Florida. All Aboard Florida’s express passenger rail project Brightline and the South Florida Regional…

Site work on Grand Station in the heart of downtown Miami takes root with tree mitigation

Site work has begun on a high-profile parcel in the heart of downtown Miami that will bring one of the first new residential towers to an area anchored by many institutional buildings. “They are moving fast,” said Miami Parking Authority CEO Art Noriega regarding developer Grand Station Partners LLC. Construction fencing has been erected around the vacant corner lot next door to the parking agency’s…

County looks at putting trails under Florida Power and Light lines

Miami-Dade County is considering developing park space under Florida Power and Light (FPL) transmission lines and easements as bicycle trails and walking paths. Commissioners in July accepted a report from Mayor Carlos Giménez detailing how the county could best work with the power company to create a 1.76-mile trail system under FPL lines on land managed by the county’s parks department. The…

New airport use agreement puts American Airlines first

American Airlines went to the front of the line at up to 61 gates as Miami-Dade commissioners approved a 15-year agreement granting high-volume airlines priority use of concourse gates and changing how domestic and international carriers pay for facilities and services at Miami International Airport – but not before Commissioner Barbara Jordan ensured tougher language was included to eliminate living…

Owners who cap rent rises will see lower finance costs under new Freddie Mac plan

Freddie Mac is launching a new program to help keep rents down. The initiative will offer owners who cap rent increases for the duration of their loans lower-cost financing, according to the Wall Street Journal. It works similar to rent control but is a voluntary program. Freddie Mac plans to announce the program on Tuesday and launch it immediately. The firm will provide mezzanine debt to owners at below…

Feds look to seize Porsche Tower condo unit tied to $1B money laundering case

Federal officials are seeking to seize a condo unit at Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach that they allege is tied to a $1 billion Venezuelan money laundering scheme. Prosecutors allege the scheme laundered money out of Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA, and into fraudulent investments and Miami real estate. One deal allegedly involved was the $5.3 million purchase of unit 2205…

Midtown Capital Partners buys Coral Gables office building

Midtown Capital Partners just paid $14.75 million for a Coral Gables office building as part of a sale-leaseback deal. Steiner Management Services, the parent company of One Spa World, which has its headquarters at the property, sold the 58,500-square-foot building at 770 South Dixie Highway to Midtown Capital Partners, a commercial investment firm led by Alejandro Velez and Alexander Saieh. The buyer…

Mast Capital just sold a historic French chateau in Brickell that was to become restaurant

Mast Capital just sold a historic French chateau on Brickell Avenue for $6.25 million, where it planned to bring an Italian restaurant. Mast Capital sold the 5,837-square foot building at 1500 Brickell Avenue to Chateau Petit Douy LLC for $1,070 per square foot, property records show. Camilo Miguel, CEO of Mast Capital, said Chateau Petit Douy is controlled by the hospitality group that is bringing a restaurant to…

Paramount Miami Worldcenter – Miami’s tallest building – tops off

The developers of Paramount Miami Worldcenter topped out the luxury condo tower on Friday along with hundreds of construction workers, engineers and subcontractors. Paramount developers Dan Kodsi, Nitin Motwani and Art Falcone hosted the event along with the project’s general contractor, CoastalTishman. The 60-story, 500-plus unit tower is part of Motwani and Falcone’s mixed-use, master…

Popeyes Moving Headquarters to Miami From Atlanta, Reports Say

A rendering of the building that Popeyes and Burger King will share when the brand moves to Miami, Florida. After building a base in Atlanta, the Popeyes restaurant chain appears to be moving its headquarters to Miami, according to published reports. The South Florida Business Journal reported last week that Restaurant Brands International, which owns Popeyes, Tim Hortons and Burger King, will…

Video: Reis Economist Barbara Denham Presents Retail Property Sector Update and Forecast

Brick and mortar retail has been getting a bit of a bad review. Should that be so? Barbara Denham, Economist with Reis, appears on America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss the retail property sector within the overall commercial real estate market. In this video, she provides updates and forecasts on retail properties, discussing vacancy rates, occupancy rate trends, some sample rental rates, and…

Fed Chart: Is there a skills gap in the South? Mapping education and unemployment across the U.S.

Much research has been published on the labor market transition from low-skill and routine jobs to high-skill and non-routine jobs at both a national and a local level. But is this job polarization occurring to the same degree across the country? A recent report co-sponsored by the St. Louis Fed looks at the issue of workforce development in light of this changing economy, especially in southern…

LatAm logistics firm takes Doral sublease, other big lease news

A Latin American and Caribbean logistics and e-commerce company that was recently acquired by PriceSmart just inked a 106,300-square-foot sublease at the International Corporate Park in Doral… at 9950 Northwest 17th Street. Boutique yacht brokerage and charter firm 26 North Yachts just expanded to Miami Beach… at 520 West Avenue, with plans to hire up to six additional brokers over the next…

Retail Sizzling: Terranova Welcomes Multiple New Tenants

Terranova Corporation… has announced a plethora of new tenants opening in two of its most prestigious retail locations in Miami-Dade County – Coral Gables’ Miracle Mile and Miami Beach’s coveted world-famous pedestrian thoroughfare Lincoln Road. On Lincoln Road, three new restaurants and a café embracing the diversity of Miami Beach’s local and tourist populations, join the vibrant mix of dining…

Newark Gets Ready to Pitch Amazon a $1 Billion Tax Package for HQ2 for a Leg Up on Miami, Other Remaining Contenders

As the battle to land Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters comes down to the wire, one of the less glamorous contenders is poised to add as much as $1 billion in tax breaks to its pitch. Newark, New Jersey, is expected to approve the big bag of cash, part of a $7 billion package the state is dangling in front of Amazon to capture HQ2, as it’s called. A trio of ordinances up for adoption at a city council…

Wynwood 25 Among Properties Adding Smart-Lock Technology to Let the Dogs Out and the In-Laws In

Let your dog walker into your apartment while you’re at the office. Or grant your in-laws access to the building’s gym while you’re sunning on a beach. It’ll be possible at new projects by some of the biggest U.S. builders. Toll Brothers Inc., Brookfield Property Partners LP, RXR Realty and Related Group of Florida are… Related Group is adding it to Wynwood 25, a Miami-area rental-and-retail project.

Little Havana driving medium-density apartment growth in the city of Miami

When the Miami City Commission rejected a proposal last year to upzone east Little Havana, it did so in the name of protecting the area from overdevelopment, commissioners said. Now, developers have adapted, and mid-size projects are on the rise. In the first half of 2018, the number of planned rental units in medium-density zones rose nearly 40 percent to 196 over the same period last year, when planned…

Brookstone files for bankruptcy, will close its 5 stores at South Florida malls

Brookstone, a retail chain that sells massage chairs and other novelty merchandise, filed for bankruptcy and plans to close all of its 102 stores in shopping malls, including five in South Florida. Brookstone’s mall locations in South Florida include Aventura Mall, Boca Town Center in Boca Raton, Dadeland Mall in Miami, the Galleria in Fort Lauderdale and the Gardens at Palm Beach in Palm…

The next phase of Monterra would include 175 age-restricted apartments

The Monterra residential community in Cooper City may expand to include more rental apartments and commercial space. The next phase of Monterra’s development would include a four-story apartment complex with 175 units for tenants 55 and older. Plans for the seven-acre apartment complex, called The Residences at Monterra Town Center, include a gym, swimming pool, community garden and bocci…

Miami-based landlord gets $26.5 million loan to refinance 6-building industrial portfolio

A Miami-based landlord got a $26.5 million loan to refinance of a six-property industrial portfolio in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. The Federated Companies of Miami got a 10-year, fixed-rate loan from a national insurance company to refinance debt on the portfolio. The portfolio comprises six buildings with about 600,000 square feet of fully occupied industrial space.

Aventura firm makes $45M addition to its portfolio of school properties

Aventura-based ESJ Capital Partners, LLC, acquired four charter school properties for $45 million. ESJ bought the four school properties totaling 176,000 square feet from publicly held EPR Properties, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol EPR. The schools in Arizona, Ohio and Washington, D.C., serve more than 3,000 students, from kindergarten through eighth grade. The operator…

Closed since Hurricane Irma, landmark Hawks Cay Resort in the Florida Keys set to reopen this month

Closed since Hurricane Irma, a landmark resort in the Florida Keys is scheduled to reopen August 30 following a $50 million renovation.
Hawks Cay Resort will reopen with a fresh design for its main hotel, two new restaurants and expanded programming for guests. Hawks Cay has 177 guest rooms, 250 villas with two or three bedrooms, six restaurants, five swimming pools a saltwater lagoon and a…

Trump Doral to pay tenant’s legal fees tied to lease dispute

Trump National Doral Miami is running up an expensive tab in a long-running legal war it’s losing against Florida Pritikin Center, a rehabilitation spa leasing space at the luxury resort. On Wednesday, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed a 2017 final judgement ruling by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jose Rodriguez against Trump Endeavor 12, the entity that owns the Doral golf resort managed by…

Bjarke Ingels teams up with 1111 Lincoln Road developer on Allapattah complex

The developer behind Miami’s most famous parking garage is planning a massive mixed-use complex designed by Danish starchitect Bjarke Ingels in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood, The Real Deal has learned. A special area plan filed with the city of Miami reveals Robert Wennett’s Miami Produce Center LLC is proposing to build an eight-building complex with residential, office, retail, hotel and school…

Private real estate fundraising drops to lowest level since 2013: report

New private real estate funds closed with $22 billion in investor commitments in the second quarter, according to a new report by research firm Preqin. That’s the lowest fundraising volume since the first quarter of 2013. In last year’s second quarter, $37 billion worth of new private real estate funds closed around the globe. Preqin blames a “lack of mega funds” for the decline. In the first quarter of 2018…

60-Story Miami Worldcenter Condo Tower Caps Change to City Skyline

Paramount Miami Worldcenter developers are completing vertical construction on the 60-story residential luxury tower, capping an almost $4 billion project that’s changing one of the biggest skylines in the U.S. Southeast. The last beam was placed Friday atop the highest point in the condominium covering 10 blocks sprawling 27 acres in Miami’s downtown. Developers say the project is one of the…

South Florida Retail Summary (Q2 2018)

A summary of the highlights, trends, and current market activity of Q2 2018 for South Florida commercial real estate focusing on Miami-Dade County: Analysis derived and compiled from leasing data and transaction reports in order to better understand the overall health of the CRE market in Miami-Dade County. In Q2 2018 Miami-Dade County’s vacancy rate moved up a fraction of a percent to 3.9% from…

Long-term lease on Lincoln Road up for grabs – again – with plans for a hotel

The leasehold interest in an iconic corner of Lincoln Road is back on the market, complete with plans for a developer to build a mixed-use hotel. The Wexler family is offering the 29,448-square-foot site at 200 Lincoln Road for a whisper price of $4 million a year for a 99-year lease. The 25,594-square-foot building is leased to Alvin’s Island, a beachwear shop, until April 2019. The family put the property on the…

3H Group Hotels buys dev site in Edgewater

3H Group Hotels continues to target Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. The hotel development firm just picked up a property at 3047 Biscayne Boulevard with approved plans to build a 13-story hotel with 137 rooms. The company, led by developer Hiren Desai, is also building an AC Hotel by Marriott just a couple of blocks north with partner Aztec Group. Records show Biscayne Point Lodging LLLP paid…

Regalia developers score $29 million condo inventory loan

Regalia Beach Developers secured a $29 million condo inventory loan for its two remaining unsold developer units — the penthouse and “beach house.” Atalaya Capital Management, a New York-based alternative investment advisory firm, provided the non-recourse financing, Lotus Capital Partners’ Faisal Ashraf said. Lotus, an independent real estate bank also based in New York, arranged the loan. A group led…

After 85 Years, Miami Shores Finally Gets A Bar

The village of Miami Shores has existed for 85 years. It has a wonderful recreation center, architecturally interesting homes and a family-friendly vibe. But it’s never had a wine bar, until now. Mika Stetsovsky via Flickr Creative Commons Flight Wine Bar has opened in Miami Shores. Residents Kim Flower, an architectural designer, and Andy Wagner, a host on WLRN public radio, opened Flight Wine Lounge…

What is fraudulent misrepresentation in contract disputes?

When businesses in Florida interact with other businesses and individuals, generally it is done through contracts. The parties to the contract agree to do certain things in exchange for something else, and when the parties reach an agreement it is generally then written down and the parties will sign a formal contract. When businesses enter into these contracts though, they have to have some assurances…

South Beach condo tower takes key step forward

The taller, more narrow design for 500 Alton Road leaves more room for a public park The long, drawn-out saga to redevelop SoBe’s vacant South Shore Hospital at 500 Alton Road made meaningful progress last week when the Miami Beach City Commission’s Finance Committee reached an agreement supporting a new 44-story tower. The latest plan was reached after many meetings and intense…

Fed keeps interest rates steady, stresses “strong economy and job market”

The Federal Reserve, led by Chairman Jerome Powell, decided not to raise interest rates on Wednesday, stressing that the economy and job market remain strong. Many expect the central bank to raise rates next month. The Fed also highlighted the low unemployment rate, and noted that household spending and businesses investment have grown strongly according to the Wall Street Journal. The comments…

Crowley Inks 286,000 SF Of Lease Transactions In Miami-Dade’s Tight Industrial Market

Miami-Dade County reports a 4.8 percent vacancy rate, and Medley and Doral continue to be two of the most in-demand and active industrial submarkets. A South Florida industrial team announced it negotiated 285,985 square feet of transactions on behalf of Crowley Maritime Corp., a marine solutions, energy, and logistics services company operating in domestic and international markets.

Eastern Atlantic plans affordable housing project in Little Havana

Eastern Atlantic Companies is proposing to build an affordable housing apartment project in Little Havana. The Miami-based firm wants to develop First & Sixth, a 100-unit rental building at 35 Southwest Sixth Avenue, according to a permit filed with the city of Miami. The development would add to a slew of apartment buildings underway in the area, which lies near the Miami River. The 13-story tower wil…

Developer Offers Renters Who Surrender Their Cars Lower Rent at New Miami Apartment Project

Would you be willing to live without a car if it meant a break on your monthly rent? One apartment developer in downtown Miami is betting more prospective tenants will say yes. Melo Group is handing out $100 monthly rent discounts at a new apartment project for people who surrender a set of wheels, though some analysts are skeptical the perk will work in such a spread out region as South Florida.

Miami Takes Steps To Become A Truly International City

Johanna and Juha Mikkola personify Miami’s emerging economy: entrepreneurial, creative and shaped by cultures ranging from the Americas and the Caribbean, to Europe and Asia. In less than five years, the Finnish couple has scaled up their tech education business with a little help from some new friends. They’ve completed a first capital raise – $1 million from…

Don’t let Dolphins’ bonanza reopen business bidding war

Miami opens purses for sports so freely and so often that it was no surprise when the county last week granted the Miami Dolphins up to $71 million to build a practice site that could cost $70 million beside the team-owned stadium in Miami Gardens on what is now a parking lot. That move 10 miles south from Broward County was smart: it would have made business sense for the team without the county…

Carlos Giménez: Mayor sees county taking lead on new mobility modes

Shortly after Carlos A. Giménez was elected Miami-Dade County mayor in June 2011, the former county commissioner and Miami city manager told Miami Today that transitioning to his new role was easier than expected. Now halfway through his second and final four-year mayoral term, Mr. Giménez says that while his prior experience informed his administrative work early on, his confidence as a public…

The city’s Urban Development Review Board recommends Little Havana apartments/retail plan

A developer plans to transform a corner block in Little Havana into a mixed-use apartment building lined by retail shops. Altman Development Corp. is proposing to construct a project called Altis Little Havana at 2100 SW Eighth Street. Plans call for about 224 residences, 9,500 square feet of commercial-retail, and parking for about 351 vehicles. The city’s Urban Development Review Board has…

No doldrums: new jobs spurt up in manufacturing, construction giving Miami-Dade County’s economy a boost

Growing jobs are giving Miami-Dade County’s economy a solid boost in the heat of summer months that decades ago were known only for the off-season doldrums. Both the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the One Community One Goal targeted job creation program here produced figures last week that showed a stronger labor situation than Miami has ever seen – at least in the total number of…

For the first time in seven years, City of Miami doesn’t lower overall millage rate

The proposed overall millage rate in the City of Miami, used to calculate property tax bills, will remain unchanged for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The city commission on July 26 set the proposed overall millage rate for fiscal year 2018-19 at 8.0300 mills. It includes general operating millage of 7.5865, and debt service of 0.4435, reflecting slight adjustments from the current fiscal year. The city’s…

County OKs funding most of study for dredging to add PortMiami capabilities

Miami-Dade commissioners have approved paying both the remainder of the county’s investment in a $3 million feasibility study of improvements to PortMiami as well as the portion the US Army Corps of Engineers would be responsible for paying. Commissioners last week OK’d spending a total $2,443,750 to fund the study – a combination of $556,250 the county spent to start the study in June plus…

Moishe Mana picks up corner property in downtown Miami

Moishe Mana just picked up another piece of downtown Miami real estate to add to his assemblage, and is under contract to purchase two more for $40 million, according to a spokesperson. Mana’s Jersey Art Holdings LLC paid $3.5 million, or about $440 per square foot, for the 8,000-square-foot corner lot at 100 South Miami Avenue, about one block north of the entrance to I-95. Donald J. Robinson…

Sen. Rubio wants to thwart real estate-targeted money laundering

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is seeking more transparency of shell companies’ purchases of U.S. real estate in an attempt to thwart money laundering. Rubio is proposing an amendment in an unrelated spending bill that would require shell companies across the country to disclose their owners for real estate purchases of more than $300,000 or more in cash, according to the Miami Herald.

What Industrial Tenants Want

Ask any industrial broker about the most important feature to industrial tenants looking for a new facility and they’ll say “location.” After that, it’s probably going to be clear height, with at least 32 feet, but preferably 36 or 40 feet, especially for large users (those taking 500 to 1,000 sq. ft. or more). But according to Blaine Kelley, Atlanta-based senior vice president of the global supply chain practice with real…

City votes yes on ‘solar halo’ for Bayfront Amphitheater

The urban installation will be one of the largest of its kind in the country Miami city commissioners have backed a move to construct a retractable, ring-like roof covered in solar panels atop the Klipsch Amphitheater at Bayfront Park. The officials waived the city’s competitive bidding requirements to fast-track the project—which they hope will be completed in 18 months and in time for Miami’s…

Melo Group closes on downtown Miami church site next to Okan Tower

The Melo Group just added to its assemblage in downtown Miami near Miami Dade College, property records show. Melo’s 6 Plaza LLC paid $10.75 million for a portion of the property at 500 Northeast First Avenue. The seller is Christ Fellowship Baptist Church, which has sold pieces of its properties downtown to Melo and the Okan Group. Okan is planning Okan Tower, a 70-story hotel and condo tower…

Class A office rents rise in Q2 across much of South Florida: report

Class A office rents across most of South Florida rose in the second quarter due to a strong economy and new construction, according to a new report by Cushman & Wakefield. The exception was Miami-Dade County, where asking rents declined 2.7 percent year-over-year to $44.96 per square foot. But Cushman & Wakefield’s Florida research director Chris Owen said this drop does not appear to be a trend or…

Mears Group, Florida Vocational secure leases in SoFla: lease roundup

Florida Vocational Institute moves into Miramar Park of Commerce. Florida Vocational Institute has inked a 30,000-square-foot lease at the Miramar Park of Commerce. The 5 million-square-foot business park is located at 3502-3560 Enterprise Way. The school offers training for students interested in entry-level careers in healthcare and information technology. In addition to the new Miramar campus, FVI…

No End in Sight to Industrial Demand in Miami-Dade County, Brokers Say

In the latest sign of strength for the Miami-Dade County industrial market, Crowley Maritime Corp. has expanded and combined most of its South Florida operations into 179,672 square feet at Flagler Station Phase II in Medley, FL, a small town on the northwestern edge of Miami-Dade. The shipping company extended its lease and signed on for more space, taking a full building at 10205 NW 108th Avenue.

Food halls proliferate as the dining format finds more fans in Florida

Food halls have popped up across Central Florida as well as South Florida amid the spreading popularity of  common dining rooms with multiple meal vendors. Just north of downtown Fort Lauderdale, for example, Sistrunk Market and Brewery, a 40,000-square-foot development with a 12-stall food hall, is scheduled to open in November. In Central Florida, a new hotel called Aventura is scheduled to…

Interactive entertainment center spanning 250,000 square feet opens in North Miami

Real estate developer Michael Dezer quietly has opened an interactive entertainment center in North Miami that spans 250,000 square feet. The official grand opening of Dezerland Park in January 2019 will feature the introduction of bumper cars, go-karts, an outdoor paintball facility, a miniature golf course and an indoor skydiving attraction. The North Miami property at 14401 Northeast 19th Avenue…

Half way between an Airbnb and hotel, meet the boutique apart-hotel

A new cadre of hoteliers are championing the concept of apart-hotels, properties set up for longer-term stays, and they credit Airbnb with helping them see the light. Because of the short-term rental giant, the idea “that there could be some advantages to a residence versus a room,” has proliferated and sparked inspiration in the minds of people like Larry Korman, president of apart-hotel brand AKA, according…

Wells Fargo mulls sale of Eastdil Secured

Wells Fargo is considering selling Eastdil Secured as the bank disposes of its non-core businesses. The San Francisco-based financial institution has been gauging interest for the commercial real estate brokerage from private equity firms, the Wall Street Journal reported. It wasn’t clear what price Eastdil might fetch. Wells Fargo bought the company for an undisclosed amount in 1999. However, banks are…

Comras, partners sell Sephora building in South Beach to Cosentino subsidiary

A group of investors led by Michael Comras sold a Miami Beach building leased to Sephora Cosmetics for $7.5 million. CLB Associates Ltd., controlled by Comras, sold the 5,400-square foot building at 721 Collins Avenue to Prisma Properties LLC, a subsidiary of Cosentino North America. Marcus & Millichap’s Kirk Olson and Drew Kristol represented the seller, whom they declined to identify. Steven O’Hara…

Voters to decide on Miami Riverside Center redevelopment

The $1 billion soccer stadium and commercial development proposed by David Beckham and his partners is going to have some company on Miami’s Nov. 4 ballot. The Miami City Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to let residents approve or reject a deal with the Adler Group to build a four-tower mixed-use project on the city-owned site of the Miami Riverside Center in downtown Miami. But…

Moishe Mana nabs $20M loan for Mana Wynwood trade hub

Developer Moishe Mana just financed a handful of properties in Wynwood for a massive trade hub he’s planning next to Mana Wynwood. Mana’s Malux Realty, Malka Realty and Mizrachi Holdings closed on the $20.13 million mortgage from Centennial Bank for the properties at 2337 Northwest Fifth Avenue, 375 Northwest 23rd Street, 394 Northwest 24th Street and 382 Northwest 24th Street. The land includes…

Firm Arranges $180 Million Sale of 1 MSF Industrial Portfolio Near Miami

Duke Realty Corp. acquired the assets for $180 million, according to local media reports. At full build-out, Countyline Corporate Park will include 8 million square feet of space on approximately 500 acres. The three buildings were fully leased at the time of sale to KLX Aerospace, CGI Windows & Doors and Hyde Shipping, among others.

Gambling in Miami? Not so fast. Potential jai alai in Edgewater may prompt new zoning rules

In response to a controversial proposal by the owners of Magic City Casino to open a jai alai fronton and poker room in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood, city officials want to draft new zoning regulations that would require gambling facilities to go through a public hearing process and obtain a super-majority vote from the Miami City Commission. City commissioners voted 4-0 on Thursday to…

Porsche Design Tower unit tied to $1B Venezuelan money laundering scheme: feds

Federal prosecutors charged eight people on Wednesday in an alleged scheme to launder more than $1 billion embezzled from the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA, using Miami real estate and fake investments. The criminal complaint further alleges that the former legal counsel to the Venezuelan Ministry of Oil and Mining used a condo at the Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach…

South Florida June resi construction starts up, but commercial down

Construction starts in South Florida were up in June on a year-over-year basis, but a sharp drop in commercial construction slowed down the overall growth, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Residential construction in South Florida leapt by 66 percent to $974 million from $586 million in June compared to June 2017. Commercial, on the other hand, plummeted 44 percent to $616 million from $1.1…

Most big cities across US show signs of housing market cool-down: report

South Florida’s once booming housing market appears to be cooling down along with a majority of other metro areas in the United States, as median annual home prices slowed in the second quarter. The Miami metro area’s annual median home prices rose 6.4 percent to $266,000 from April to June, compared to an 8.7 percent gain from January to March, according to a new report by Attom Data…

Chinese buyers’ retreat could hurt US property values

For the first time in a decade, Chinese insurers, conglomerates and other investors have become net sellers of U.S. commercial real estate. Following Beijing’s tightening of capital controls, Chinese investors sold $1.29 billion worth of U.S. commercial real estate in the second quarter, while purchasing only $126.2 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The pullback could slow down growth in the U.S. real…

Geoffrey has left the building: Toys “R” Us hires advisory firm to sell US properties

Toys “R” Us is bringing in Raider Hill Advisors to help sell off 284 stores, distribution centers and other properties around the country. The move comes four months after the once mighty toy retailer announced it would shutter all of its stores following its bankruptcy. The company announced that New York-based Raider Hill, a private real estate investment and advisory firm, would lead “efforts to…

Miami-Dade approves plan to lure Miami Dolphins training facility to Miami Gardens

Miami-Dade County has devised a plan to bring a roughly $70 million training facility for the Miami Dolphins to the city of Miami Gardens, approving the plan on Tuesday. In a 10-1 vote, commissioners rubber-stamped an incentive package and land deal that would put the Miami Dolphins’ training facility and headquarters offices right next to the Hard Rock Stadium, according to the Miami Herald.

Video: Equus Capital Partners SVP Joe Nahas on the Top 5 Long Term Issues Affecting Real Estate

The Counselors of Real Estate release an annual report that breaks down the top issues (10) affecting commercial real estate. This year, the publication is broken into the 5 current and 5 long term issues that are facing the industry. This video covers the 5 long term issues affecting commercial property fundamentals. The 5 more current issues can be found in a prior video.

Video: Equus Capital Partners SVP Joe Nahas on the Top 5 Current Issues Affecting Real Estate

The Counselors of Real Estate release an annual report that breaks down the top issues (10) affecting commercial real estate. This year, the publication is broken into the 5 current and 5 long term issues that are facing the industry. This video covers the 5 more current issues affecting commercial property fundamentals. The 5 longer term issues can be found in a subsequent video.

Multiple multi-million dollar office sales last month in Florida

Some companies in Florida own the real estate they do business on. Other companies prefer to rent their premises. This can be very lucrative for the landlord, particularly when the real estate can be portioned out for use by multiple commercial tenants. However, just like real estate in general, the commercial real estate market fluctuates and buildings are sometimes worth more than at other times.

Final PriceSmart Sublease Transactions Totaling 70,000 SF Closed

A South Florida industrial team announced it facilitated two sublease transactions totaling 70,471 square feet at Flagler Station Phase II in Medley for PriceSmart Inc., the largest operator of membership warehouse clubs in Central America and the Caribbean. The transactions consumed what remained of the 262,382-square-foot block that PriceSmart listed for sublease upon migrating the majority of its…

Baptist Health under contract to buy Coral Gables development site at center of litigation

Baptist Health is under contract to pay $41.5 million for the development site of the Collection Residences in Coral Gables — a property at the center of contentious litigation between developers Masoud Shojaee and Ugo Colombo, court documents reveal. The Baptist deal could close within two months. Shojaee and Colombo had planned to jointly develop the Collection Residences, a mixed-use project…

Century Homebuilders scores $20M loan for new home communities in west Miami-Dade

Century Homebuilders just scored a $20 million loan to build four single-family home communities in western Miami-Dade County, property records show. The Coral Gables-based developer will use the financing to construct 92 new homes, including a community with 59 single-family homes in West Kendall. It’s also planning build two smaller communities in Westchester and an 18-home development…

Across US, new home sales and prices drop

The nation’s housing market is showing signs of a slowing down. New home sales reached an eight-month low, according to new government data released Wednesday, dropping 5.3 percent from May. The numbers came out to an annualized pace of 631,000 new homes, according to the data, which Bloomberg reported first. The median home prices was also down last month, to $302,100, which…

Developer of the Fairchild condo project in Coconut Grove closes on $27M construction loan

The developer behind the Fairchild Coconut Grove just closed on a $27 million construction loan for the luxury condo project, marking one of a few new condo projects to secure construction financing in recent months. ROVR Development, led by Oscar Rodriguez and Ricardo Vadia, broke ground on the 26-unit bayfront building at 3581 East Glencoe Street in April and plans to deliver the project in…

What Office Downturn? South Florida Investment Firm Owner Describes Hunt, Competition To Buy Class-A Buildings

Accesso Partners is a South Florida-based investment firm that owns and manages Class-A office space in fast-growing cities and premier suburbs — currently, 40 properties in 12 states. Despite recent reports of a softening office market, the company is hungry to expand. Flickr Creative Commons / Sharon Mollerus The IDS Center in Minneapolis has distinctive architecture and a large open indoor space…

Miami Beach residents to vote on Jackie Soffer and David Martin’s convention center hotel

For the second time in two years, Miami Beach voters will again decide if the city gets a convention center hotel. On Wednesday, the city commission voted unanimously to place a referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot asking residents whether the city should enter into a 99-year lease with a star-studded development team, headlined by Jackie Soffer of Turnberry Associates and David Martin of Terra Group. The…

Avra Jain and David Martin buy site across from Miami Northwestern High School, plan sports entertainment facility

A partnership between Avra Jain and David Martin of Terra closed on a property and financing for a new project in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, just west of Little River. Jain and her business partner Joe Del Vecchio are partnering with Martin to build a 95,000-square-foot flex warehouse development on the 4.7-acre site at 1010 Northwest 72nd Street, Jain said. David Avan’s 1010 NW…

American Landmark, Electra America on a Spending Spree in South Florida

A multifamily investment partnership picked up its fourth South Florida property this year with the acquisition of the Park Colony Apartments in Hollywood, FL for $56 million… Tampa-based American Landmark and Electra America of North Palm Beach have already this year acquired High Ridge Landing in Boynton Beach, Beach Walk at Sheridan in Dania Beach and the Lago Paradiso in Miami.

These New Hotels – Coming to Miami – Can Actually Compete With Airbnb

Locke Hotels’ pipeline includes 22 projects in the next few years, including locations in Dublin, Paris, and Berlin. “The intention is to cover every major European city and get the company to $2 or $2.5 billion [in valuation]—then we’ll look at the U.S. and Australasia markets,” says Jafari. AKA, meanwhile, intends to grow from 12 to 36 properties in the next five years, covering Paris, Rome, Austin, Miami…

Developer Bets That, In Miami, You ‘Really Can Live Downtown Without A Car’

Melo Group’s new apartment complex, Square Station, opened in June at 1424 Northeast Miami Place, right in downtown Miami, adjacent to a Metromover stop. Rents at the two towers’ 710 units range from $1,650 for one-bedrooms to $2,500 for three-bedrooms. Units come with a complimentary parking space, but the developer is offering renters a $100-a-month discount for the entirety of their leases if they…

Florida’s Brand-New Private Train Is Close To Running Out Of Money

The privately funded Brightline train debuted in South Florida in January, to great fanfare that included Miami Heat dancers and a mojito bar. So far, Brightline trains have killed half a dozen people who were crossing its tracks — but that is probably not the service’s biggest problem. The deaths were chalked up to careless or suicidal people crossing the tracks and addressed with a public safety campaign.

Stambul Acquires Historic Walgreens Building in Downtown Miami for $19.8M, Plans Redevelopment

Stambul, a Miami-based full-service construction and development firm, has acquired the Historic Walgreens Building in downtown Miami for $19.8 million. Located at 200 E. Flagler Street, the building most recently housed La Epoca, a department store that closed in 2016. Habitat Development Corp., an entity owned by the Alonso family, sold the asset. Mika Mattingly and Gerard Yetming of Colliers…

Video: Miami Beach Building Collapse

This short video shows the harrowing collapse of the 12-story Marlborough House, a building at 5775 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. This obviously regretful incident reportedly resulted in the loss of a leg. News outlets have reported that there was a demolition permit but not a permit for an implosion, citing the Miami Beach Police Department’s Twitter account.

CGI Successfully Completes Refinancing of Four Class-A Properties in South Florida

CGI Merchant Group, LLC (“CGI”), headquartered in Miami, is a leading private and alternative investment management firm, with a focus on commercial real estate and infrastructure opportunities, successfully executed the refinancing of assets located in Coral Gables, Florida and its 400-office portfolio, composed of corporate and executive suites, in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Florida. CGI has continued.

Avra Jain and David Martin buy site across from Miami Northwestern High School, plan sports entertainment facility

A partnership between Avra Jain and David Martin of Terra closed on a property and financing for a new project in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, just west of Little River. Jain and her business partner Joe Del Vecchio are partnering with Martin to build a 95,000-square-foot flex warehouse development on the 4.7-acre site at 1010 Northwest 72nd Street, Jain said. David Avan’s 1010 NW…

Miami, Other Trend-Setting Markets Show Power Of Retail Mix

Cities have always been a hotbed of experimentation in retail. From redevelopment of historic city centers to new shopping destinations built around sports and recreation, here are five markets making notable moves in brick-and-mortar. Miami: Developers are going big in South Florida. Officials recently approved zoning changes for the development of American Dream Miami, a retail theme park that is set…

New office space nationwide could drop sharply in 2019

The amount of new office space hitting the market nationwide could dip by as 20 percent next year, a combination of rising costs, concerns over the end of the cycle and tightening zoning restrictions. The amount of new office deliveries is expected to total 68.4 million square feet by the end of this year, and about 54.7 million square feet in all of 2019, according to Cushman & Wakefield. National Real…

Jai-alai in Edgewater would lead to casino complex in Omni

Few are saying so, but civic leaders’ objections to a gambling incursion on downtown’s north edge must be more about what will follow than about a tawdry jai-alai fronton and poker parlor. Those bringing gambling to newly burgeoning Edgewater are well-known local families who nonetheless are wrong to put gambling in any form on Biscayne Boulevard. It’s logical and correct to say, as leaders are…

Mixed-use Wynwood office building ‘Forum’ gets a city thumbs-up

A New York based development company has teamed with a globally-recognized and award-winning architect to bring a stand-out mixed-use office building to the heart of the ever-growing Wynwood Arts District. RedSky Capital plans to construct an eight-story mixed-use building called Forum at 2700 NW Second Avenue in Wynwood. The developer’s team presented details July 18 to the city’s Urban…

Hyatt redevelopment on city’s waterfront in planning again

It will probably be another year or more before there is real action to redevelop the Hyatt hotel and Knight Center property in downtown Miami. Earlier this month, proposed legislation pending before the Miami City Commission was scheduled to be heard but was withdrawn – by Hyatt. Hyatt officials were planning to get the matter to city voters – as required by city charter – for the August or November ballot.

Doral awaits residential projects approved before this year

Almost every block in Doral awaits a new residential and mixed-used project approved prior to 2018. The centralization of a live-work-play lifestyle only fuels a higher demand for a growing inventory. Among these projects: – Atrium will situate 350 multi-family, residential units by 80,465 square feet of retail and office spaces. The 11.23 acres sits at northwest corner of Doral Boulevard and Northwest 79th Avenue.

$4 Billion American Dream mall rolls along road to OK

The $4 billion American Dream Miami mall mega-project is one step closer to fruition. The vast mall and entertainment complex planned for Northwest Miami-Dade has been approved by the reviewing agencies in Miami-Dade County and now the next step, administrative site approval, is under way, said Nathan Kogon, assistant director of development services for Miami-Dade County. Before the…

It’s decided: Miami-Dade commission chooses Flagler site for new downtown courthouse

The new downtown courthouse will be built by a private real estate developer on the site of a park across the street from the current 90-year Miami-Dade County Courthouse, county commissioners decided on Tuesday. The resolution, sponsored by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman, eliminates a 42,000-square-foot parking lot near the Miami Children’s Courthouse at 155 Northwest Third…

Century Homebuilders buys land in West Kendall, plans residential community

Century Homebuilders Group is planning to build a single-family home community alongside one of its proposed townhome communities in West Kendall. Property records show an affiliate of the company just dropped $6.7 million for at least 11 acres of vacant land on the southwest corner of Southwest 136th Street and 157th Avenue, which runs parallel to Krome Avenue. Century Homebuilders…

South Florida’s largest retail sales deals in June

With experts predicting a “retail apocalypse”, South Florida has remained a lone exception. In June, the top retail deals included three traditional shopping centers, a building in South Beach, and the sale of the Metro Mall building in downtown Miami’s jewelry district.
The June investment sales figures were compiled from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County property records.

PIA Group sells portfolio of South Florida rental homes to Cerberus for $47M

Property Investment Advisors Group just off-loaded a trove of single-family rental homes in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties for $47 million. The Miami-based private equity real estate investment firm sold roughly 200 homes to Cerberus Capital Management. The proceeds from the trade will go into the acquisition of additional multifamily assets throughout the southeastern…

Land of Opportunity? In Some Cases, That’s Not South Florida, Developers Say

The crowded Miami skyline leaves little room for new development, forcing many developers to look elsewhere for available land, better returns and higher demand. Riviera Point Development Group made it a goal last year to build or acquire a portfolio of 1,500 limited-service hotel rooms by 2021. The firm is about one-third of the way there, but only 157 of the 500 rooms so far are in its home territory…

Amazon and Whole Foods Bring Delivery Service to South Florida, New York Markets

Amazon and Whole Foods Market announced Tuesday the start of home delivery service for natural and organic products through Prime Now, launching the service in South Florida and parts of New York. Prime members can shop for produce, meat, seafood, bakery items and other products from Whole Foods Market at primenow.com or by using the e-retailer’s Prime Now app. Some alcohol also is…

Miami Beach condo building collapses mid-demolition, injuring one

The incident shut down traffic on Collins Avenue between 41st and 63rd streets An empty 13-story condo building at 5775 Collins Avenue collapsed during routine demolition work around 10 a.m. Monday morning in Miami Beach, shutting down traffic and leaving one person injured. 46-year-old Samuel Landis, a project manager with Fort Lauderdale-based AlliedBean Demolition, was struck by falling debris…

Commissioner Russell’s take on the Melreese vote

For a guy whose political career began with a park, it may ironically end because of a park. I reached out to our Commissioner Ken Russell and asked him for an explanation for his vote regarding the Melreese Golf Course. I know many people are upset about his vote; he had the power at the Commission meeting and should have stood up to the Beckham group and Jorge Mas, they are bullies. Once the door…

Here’s what we know about the Miami Beach building collapse and the firms involved

The start of what was supposed to be a “flagship project” for a Brazilian billionaire developer suffered a major setback on Monday after the building being demolished unexpectedly collapsed, sending a project manager to the hospital and shutting down a large portion of Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. A pile of rubble was all that was left of the former Marlborough House as firefighters and police officers…

Historic downtown Miami Walgreens sells to the Langford’s owner for $20M

Daniel Peña’s Stambul now owns another historic piece of downtown Miami. The family owned and operated construction and development firm paid $19.75 million for the historic Walgreens building at 200 East Flagler Street, most recently home to La Epoca department store. When it opened in the 1930s, the building was home to Walgreens’ 66-seat soda fountain. The Alonso family sold the…

Marlborough House building collapses in Miami Beach; 1 injury reported

A Miami Beach condo building being demolished collapsed Monday morning, injuring at least one person. The waterfront building at 5775 Collins Avenue, formerly known as the Marlborough House, had a demolition permit but not an implosion permit, according to the Miami Beach Police Department’s Twitter account. Samuel Landis, a 42-year-old project manager, remains in critical condition at Jackson…

Partition Actions: A More Detailed Look

In a previous post, we established an over-arching general understanding of Partition Actions and their applications.  Now let’s investigate some of the details of common Partition Actions. As with every facet of the justice system, proper procedure is a must in all court filings for Partition Actions.  As detailed in Florida Statute 64.041, the initial Complaint in a Partition Action must include the following: A legal…

Can a handshake be considered a binding contract in Florida?

Earlier this month, Florida Power and Light (FPL) was issued a stunning legal defeat when a $1.5 million dollar judgment was issued against the company for breaking a handshake agreement for the purchase of real estate.  A Palm Beach County jury handed down the decision after finding that the energy giant failed to pay a commission to the realtor who initially informing them of the available tract…

Voters to decide fate of David Beckham’s soccer stadium

A measure clearing a path for the facility at Melreese Country Club will appear on the November ballot After five years and numerous false starts, David Beckham’s push to bring a Major League Soccer team to Miami is finally ready to go before residents as a referendum. City commissioners voted 3 to 2 in favor of giving the $1 billion Freedom Park proposal a place on the November ballot. The current…

Skyline-changing Okan Tower targets 2018 groundbreaking

The project’s Istanbul-based developers are courting both US and Turkish buyers After receiving the green light from the Urban Design Review Board in October, Miami’s upcoming Okan Tower project is moving full speed ahead with its sales and marketing efforts. If all goes to plan, the soaring downtown skyscraper aims to break ground by the end of the year. The new $300 million high-rise—slated for the…

Everything you need to know about David Beckham’s latest MLS stadium and mega complex proposal

For David Beckham, landing a stadium site for his Miami professional franchise has proven just as elusive as winning a World Cup for England. Since his group Miami Beckham United launched its bid to field a Major League Soccer team four years ago, the international futbol star has cycled through four possible locations with each one falling through, including Beckham’s preferred site at PortMiami…

South Florida’s biggest office sales in June

South Florida’s office market is cooling down after years of strong demand and low vacancy rates, but that doesn’t mean major deals have come to a halt. 1111 Brickell Avenue, also known as the Sabadell Financial Center, sold in June for $248.5 million, marking the priciest office sale of the month and year. Two other office buildings sold for more than $20 million outside the city of Miami, and another two…

Babson College expands to Brickell, other news in leasing

Babson College inks lease at 1200 Brickell. Massachusetts-based Babson College is expanding to Brickell. The college, which specializes in entrepreneurship education, inked a five-year, 5,500-square-foot lease at 1200 Brickell Avenue and is filling up half of its third floor. Marcello Agostini of AG Real Estate Advisors represented the landlord, SGJ 1200, LLC. Records show the Miami-based company is,,,

First cafe opens at MiamiCentral, Rosa Mexicano shutters Brickell location, other restaurant news

The first food and beverage tenant began serving at MiamiCentral this week. The Scandinavian juice bar, coffee shop and cafe is leasing 2,400 square feet in the lobby of Brightline’s MiamiCentral station, at 650 Northwest First Avenue, suite 100. Joe & The Juice has more than 200 locations worldwide. At MiamiCentral’s Central Fare food hall, it will be joined by Toasted Bagelry & Deli, Miami Smokers…

Miami board approves three mixed-use projects in Coconut Grove, Little Havana and Wynwood

Three significant, yet separate, mixed-use projects proposed by Redsky Capital, Terra and the Altman Companies breezed through Miami’s Urban Development Review Board, receiving unanimous approvals this week. Redsky is planning an eight-story building with 144,781 square feet of office space and another 36,072 square feet of commercial space on three properties totaling 1.25 acres in the heart of…

All Those New Apartments in South Florida Still Aren’t Enough, Report Says

It may seem that an apartment complex is going up on every street corner in South Florida, but a new report shows that builders actually have some catching-up to do. Renters moved into 9,155 units across the tri-county region in the first half of 2018, while deliveries totaled 6,336 over the same period, according to Ambler, PA-based commercial real estate services firm Berkadia. That’s the first time in three…

NP International to Construct 1.3 MSF Mixed-Use Development Near Miami

NP International (NPI) has selected Balfour Beatty to construct the 1.3 million-square-foot Gables Station mixed-use development in Coral Gables, a suburb of Miami. Comprised of three towers, the development will feature retail space, residential units, a hotel and a 1,000-car parking garage. The transit-oriented development is situated within a commercial corridor on U.S. Highway 1 and is adjacent to the…

Protecting Against Liability Issues In Retail Real Estate

From slip-and-fall lawsuits to allegations of wrongful lease termination, commercial property owners can be vulnerable to a wide range of legal claims on a near-daily basis. Anticipating and protecting against all potential legal claims can often be a full-time job in itself, and may leave you little time or energy to devote to the many other responsibilities that come with successfully managing a commercial…

$68.8M Sale of Retail Portfolio Brokered in Miami Beach

HFF has arranged the sale of a seven-property retail portfolio located in Miami Beach’s Sunset Harbour neighborhood. Manny de Zárraga, Luis Castillo and Daniel Finkle of HFF arranged the transaction on behalf of the seller, Scott Robins Cos. Charlotte-based Asana Partners acquired the assets for $68.8 million, according to the Miami Herald. The portfolio includes single- and multi-tenant properties located…

SoFla’s largest multifamily deals in June

The nearly $150 million sale of an apartment complex near Aventura set the bar high for South Florida’s multifamily market in June. The majority of the top five deals were in Miami-Dade County, with one $55 million sale of a Pompano Beach development and a smaller property in Davie. South Florida’s multifamily market has remained strong in recent years with increased development and strong resales.

TA Realty sells warehouse portfolio in Miami-Dade to RREEF

TA Realty just sold three warehouses in Miami Gardens and near Hialeah for $21.35 million to RREEF Property Trust, an arm of Deutsche Bank asset management. The industrial portfolio spans 290,000 square feet, meaning the deal breaks down to nearly $75 per square foot. Records show TA Realty spent a total of about $17.6 million acquiring the sites in 2007 and 2008 through an affiliate company, the…

Omni CRA buys Diana Lowenstein Gallery in Wynwood, aiming to redevelop as a mixed-use project

The Omni Community Redevelopment Agency just bought the Diana Lowenstein Gallery property in Wynwood for $6 million, with plans to put it out for bid for affordable or workforce housing and retail space, The Real Deal has learned. DLFA Inc., an entity led by the Lowenstein family and Bruce Lazar of Lionstone Development, sold the nearly half-acre site at 2035, 2037 and 2043 North Miami Avenue…

Ocean Bank Provides $60M Loan for Refinancing of Shopping Center in Miami

Ocean Bank has provided a $60 million loan for the refinancing of Kendall Village, a 256,000-square-foot shopping center located at the intersection of Kendall Drive and S.W. 124th Avenue in Miami. Ocean Bank provided the loan on behalf of the borrower, Kendall Village Associates LLC. The center is fully leased to tenants such as Regal Cinema, Old Navy, Gap, Chuck E. Cheese, Jared Jewelry, Pier 1 Imports…

Interpretation of disputed terms in a contract dispute

People and businesses in Florida enter into contracts almost every day. Some contracts are simply accepting the terms for using a product or service, but many others take many hours of negotiation to ensure that the contract states exactly what the parties to the contract want it to say. The more money that is on the line, generally, the longer contract formation process may take. After the contract is signed by…

Beckham’s bid for a Miami MLS stadium will go to voters

Miami voters will get to decide whether David Beckham’s latest pitch for a Major League Soccer stadium passes muster — if a legal challenge doesn’t derail it first. On Wednesday afternoon, following another marathon meeting, city commissioners voted 3-2 to place on the Nov. 4 ballot a no-bid proposal by Beckham and his partners to redevelop Miami’s Melreese golf course and park complex into a…

University of Miami buys United Methodist church near its Coral Gables campus

The University of Miami is going off campus. Property records show the private university paid $8.84 million for the 1.64-acre United Methodist Church site at 6500 Red Road, about two blocks west of the Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The Board of Trustees of the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church Inc. sold the property, which includes the two-story, 36,000-square-foot…

North Miami Beach approves micro-city for West Dixie Highway

The North Miami Beach City Commission unanimously approved a 2.5-million-square-foot mixed-use project on Tuesday that will be designed as a “micro-city,” along the lines of Midtown Miami. Called New North Town Center, the project will be constructed on an 18-acre site that North Miami Beach officials call the TECO Gas Site, a brownfield that has been undergoing environmental remediation…

Miami Voters to Decide Fate of David Beckham Soccer Stadium

Soccer icon David Beckham wasn’t in the house Wednesday, but business partner Jorge Mas finally persuaded Miami city commissioners to let voters decide whether Beckham can build a 25,000-seat stadium and entertainment complex on a city-owned golf course. After nearly nine hours of public comment and sometimes-heated discussion on July 12, the Miami City Commission postponed the matter…

Miami Residents Will Finally Vote on Beckham’s MLS Stadium in November

A referendum on David Beckham’s proposed Major League Soccer stadium was approved today in the most Miami of ways: Three commissioners voted to move the plan forward after multiple weeks of abrupt public proposals, last-minute plan changes, accusations of lawbreaking and corruption, and a whole lot of general bloviating and confusion. City of Miami commissioners Joe Carollo, Ken Russell…

Five Unanswered Questions About the New Beckham Stadium Proposal

Soccer star and professional attractive person David Beckham spent a small portion of Thursday’s carnival-esqe city commission meeting complaining that anonymous Miamians haven’t been smiling at him as often lately. Only one woman publicly flashed him on Thursday! Poor Becks. Many Miami residents are, rightfully, skeptical about Beckham’s latest proposal in his never-ending, five-year quest to build…

David Beckham’s Miami Stadium Morphs Into $1B Project; Related Group CEO Called Offer ‘Unconscionable’

Nearly five years after David Beckham announced he would be putting a Major League Soccer team in Miami, his investment group is back at the negotiating table trying to get a stadium built. A new plan calls for a $1B stadium and retail complex at the current site of the Melreese Country Club, a city-owned property that is contaminated with arsenic. Miami city commissioners will vote Wednesday on the…

Competitive bidding process proposed for Melreese site

As David Beckham and the Mas brothers seek approval to redevelop the Melreese Country Club into a mixed-use soccer complex, Avison Young’s Michael Fay wants to level the playing field. Fay, managing director and principal of Avison Young’s Miami office, is proposing to set up a competitive bidding process for the 131-acre site, he told The Real Deal. Fay sent a letter on Tuesday to Miami Mayor Francis…

Marathon Boat Yard Marine Center in the Florida Keys sells for $6M

A boatyard and marina in the Florida Keys was just scooped up by a company tied to the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based baked goods producer, Bama Companies, for $5.75 million. Marathon Boat Yard Marine Center at 2059 Overseas Highway sold to Silent Hunter Boat Yard, LLC, which is led by Bama’s CEO Paula Marshall and her family office’s accountant Matt Alley, records show. The family-owned and operated…

Video: Real Capital Analytics SVP Jim Costello Provide an Update on the Office Market

Jim Costello, Senior Vice President at Real Capital Analytics, appears on The Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss the state of the office market in the U.S. He discusses segmentation in the office market, with deal volume down more in the central business district (CBD) market that in the suburban markets, which he submits is due to the CBD markets being priced to perfection, i.e. very fully priced. He…

The Modernization of Coconut Grove: First Office Projects in 30 Years

Coconut Grove welcomed the first settlers in the late 1800s and became an independent city by 1919. The City of Miami annexed the lush and culturally rich enclave in 1925, triggering its continuous growth. Coconut Grove—considered the oldest neighborhood in Miami—has always been a sought-after tourist destination due to its deep-rooted history, trendy shopping and entertainment venues and the…

Coconut Grove to Welcome Luxury Hotel

The Cipriani family is bringing the first Mr. C hotel to Florida—the 100-room hotel dubbed Mr. C Coconut Grove is currently under construction in Miami’s oldest neighborhood, Coconut Grove. The developer and owner, Main Highway Partners, plans to deliver the project in late 2018. Mr. C Hotels, founded by brothers Ignazio and Maggio Cipriani, will operate the property. At 2988 McFarlane Road…

6 Key Metrics About the Miami Commercial Real Estate Market

Miami’s commercial real estate market offers a wide range of projects and property types due to its access as an Atlantic coastal town. Miami has distinct cultural influence as a transportation node between North, Central, and South America. It also possesses economic diversity with many opportunities illustrated by a variety of business sectors within the…

Alone together: Study says open-plan offices might make us anti-social

The fact that you can see all of your co-workers doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to talk to any of them. According to a new study by Harvard University, open-plan offices might actually deter employees from working together. Instead, workers are more likely to communicate by instant messaging and email, the New York Post reported. But there’s a caveat: The study only looked at two Fortune…

It takes guts to keep developers off city golf course’s turf

“No guts, no glory” is something ex-soccer star David Beckham understands. Miami commissioners should too when it’s time to preserve the city’s patrimony of greenery. Mr. Beckham is the front man allied with local executive Jorge Mas to develop a mixed-use project far larger than Brickell City Centre at the city’s only golf course. A soccer team is the bauble dangled before the commission and the public…

Pressure builds for rail service as only choice for the South Dade Transitway

Miami-Dade commissioners haven’t yet decided what upgrades the county will make to the South Dade Transitway, but according to Commissioner Dennis Moss, anything but rail would be a disservice to residents. At the commission’s July 12 Chairman’s Policy Council meeting, Mr. Moss argued for his resolution directing the mayor’s office to find funding to alter a current study by Aecom Technical…

Ocean Bank Provides $60M Loan for Miami Retail Center

Ocean Bank has come through with $60 million in financing for a longtime client. The bank provided Kendall Village Associates, an entity of Berkowitz Development Group Inc., a loan to refinance the 256,000-square-foot Kendall Village Center mixed-use retail property in Miami. Kendall Village made its debut in 2000 and underwent renovations in 2005. The center consists of 13 buildings and, along with an…

Miami Attorney Sues City Over No-Bid David Beckham Proposal for Melreese Country Club

Before David Beckham’s group abruptly ditched plans for a stadium in Overtown, one of the biggest roadblocks to that proposal was an ongoing lawsuit by a local activist who claimed the city broke the rules by agreeing to sell the group public land without bidding for other offers. Now Beckham is facing exactly that same challenge over his new plan to lease the city-owned Melreese Country Club for his…

Deal outlines development and parking at Coconut Grove Playhouse

The city’s Off-Street Parking Board has approved a memorandum of understanding with Miami-Dade County for a new parking garage and related development next door to the Coconut Grove Playhouse. The unanimous vote by the parking board came July 11. County officials are moving forward with the plan to restore the front of the historic theater, build a new 300-seat theater and ancillary uses on…

County to vote on new civil courthouse site beside 1928 version

Miami-Dade may soon have a set construction site for a new civil courthouse, as commissioners are to vote next week on a parcel just west of the crumbling one on Flagler Street. Commissioners at the Chairman’s Policy Council on July 12 unanimously forwarded to a full commission vote a resolution to build the new courthouse between West Flagler and Northwest First streets. The parcel was acquired…

Coral Gables clears way for developments in its ‘long neglected’ North Gables

“Long neglected” north Coral Gables could be seeing new development in coming years. At their July meeting, city commissioners unanimously passed three ordinances on first hearing to amend the city’s land use map to allow for mixed-use development and also approve a proposed Planned Area Development (PAD) for a project called “Regency on the Park.” The first two ordinances expanded the…

Scott Robins and Philip Levine sell Sunset Harbour retail portfolio for $69 million

Developer Scott Robins and Florida gubernatorial candidate Philip Levine sold a retail portfolio in Miami Beach’s Sunset Harbour neighborhood for $68.75 million to Asana Partners, a real estate investment firm, sources told The Real Deal. Robins and the former Miami Beach mayor sold the seven-building, 61,400-square-foot portfolio 1787, 1919, 1928 Purdy Avenue…

Contrarian investors across US find bargains amid “retail apocalypse”

With predictions of a “retail apocalypse” growing by the day, and as more stores close and companies file for bankruptcy, some investors see now as the perfect time to buy ailing shopping centers at distressed prices. Brian Kosoy, the CEO of the Sterling Organization, a private equity firm, started a new fund to invest in grocery-anchored shopping centers, street retail and other shopping centers across…

Renderings revealed: First phase of the Magic City Innovation District

The first phase of the Magic City Innovation District is underway and is expected to be turned over to tenants as early as September, according to developer Tony Cho. The first phase of the 17.7-acre development calls for gut-renovating the majority of the 21 existing commercial buildings in the Little Haiti and Little River neighborhoods of Miami. Spaces will range from 300 square feet…

Will Real Estate Developers Seize On “Opportunity Zones” Tax Incentives?

A short drive from downtown Miami, colorful murals highlight the Haitian diaspora and pink and yellow island-themed buildings dot Second Avenue in Little Haiti. Among the traditional Creole eateries, some millennial-focused restaurants have emerged, advertising craft beer and featuring organic rotisserie chicken and jalapeno jam on their menus. The slow transformation has not gone unnoticed.

Retail sales rise nationwide in Q2, indicating strong economic outlook

Nationwide retail sales were up in the second quarter year over year, a positive sign for the overall economy, though department store revenue continued the drop. From April to June, retail sales in the U.S. grew by 5.9 percent compared to the same period in 2017, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Monday, , according to the Wall Street Journal. June sales rose 0.5 percent from May figures. The news…

Think Hotel Group closes $22 million loan for Clinton Hotel in South Beach

Think Hotel Group just received a $22 million loan from Blue Vista Finance for the recently renovated Clinton Hotel in South Beach. The hospitality firm recently completed an 18-month, multimillion-dollar renovation of the 88-key hotel at 825 Washington Avenue, including a full restoration of the lobby’s layout using the original 1930’s Spanish tile, a fully renovated pool and courtyard, as well as full…

Jorge Pérez blasts Beckham/Mas brothers soccer complex proposal

Related Group founder Jorge Pérez is speaking out against the proposed $1 billion plan to redevelop the city of Miami’s Melreese Golf Course into the home of Miami’s Major League Soccer team. But he isn’t interested in bidding on the property, Pérez told The Real Deal. Miami’s condo king compared the deal to the Miami Marlins stadium debacle, citing the lack of community input and low rent…

Codina Partners lands $150M refi for Downtown Doral and 2020 Salzedo

Codina Partners just closed on a $150 million refinance deal for two of its commercial projects in Doral and Coral Gables. The firm scored $20 million for its luxury office tower project 2020 Salzedo from Florida Community Bank, and $127 million for its office and retail portfolio at Downtown Doral from an undisclosed life insurance company, according to a spokesperson for the developer. The two…

Link Real Estate, Jameson and Forte Capital group sell retail property in Wynwood

A company tied to San Francisco investment firm RRE Investments paid $9.15 million for a retail property in Wynwood. 151 NW 24th St Partners LLC, led by general partners Dan Arev of Link Real Estate and Chaim Cahane of Forte Capital Management and equity partner Joe Serure of Jameson Realty Group, sold the redeveloped building at 151 Northwest 24th Street, according to Dwntwn Realty Advisors…

Green venture capital firm buys luxury condo at Muse in Sunny Isles

A green venture capital firm just purchased a unit at the newly completed Muse Residences in Sunny Isles Beach for $6 million. Boca Raton-based PMA Venture Capital Group, led by George Pagoumian, bought unit 3601 at the luxury tower in Sunny Isles at 17100 Collins Avenue, which began recording sales in June. Kevin Maloney’s Property Markets Group and Claudio Stivelman and Marc Schmulian’s S2…

Blockchain will streamline project development tasks: panel

While a lot of the buzz surrounding the real estate industry’s emerging use of blockchain has centered on authenticating property transactions involving cryptocurrencies, the technology has the capability of completely streamlining development, according to a panel of Miami entrepreneurs developing applications for the building community. For instance, architecture and engineering firms can…

Apartment investor pays $3.02 million for Miami site zoned for 150 units

An affiliate of rental housing investor CFH Group paid $3.02 million for a Miami site zoned for as many as 150 residential units near Jackson Memorial Hospital. The 39,900-square-foot site is at 1430, 1460 and 1490 Northwest 20th Street in Miami’s Allapattah community, just west of the city’s Wynwood area. The sellers were Ramiro Chavez and Magali Chavez. The buyer, Allapattah Investors…

Miami condo developer courts affluent Turks repelled by Turkish politics

Real estate investors have a new reason to avoid Turkey, and that could be good news for a Miami condo developer. The Turkish developer behind a 389-unit condo development in Miami may sell more units to wealthy Turks discouraged by the June reelection of Turkey’s authoritarian president. Veteran developer Bekir Okan expects the reelection of Recep Tayyip Erdogan to inspire capital outflow…

Legal fight pits historic preservation against climate-change preparation

An owner of property in a Miami Beach neighborhood prone to flooding has taken legal action to overturn the city’s designation of the area as historic. The property owner, a company called Ytech, has petitioned a judge to undo the designation for the Tatum Waterway neighborhood, claiming it hinders efforts to respond to rising sea levels. Ytech owns nine buildings in the Tatum Waterway…

WeWork goes vegetarian refusing to pay for meat under new company policy

This is not a drill: WeWork–and anyone eating on the company’s dime–is going vegetarian. The co-working giant valued at about $20 billion is removing all meat options from its internal menu and telling employees to leave any meals with meat off their expense reports because they will no longer be footing the bill, according to Bloomberg. Co-founder Miguel McKelvey informed WeWork’s 6,000 staff…

Miami judge rejects dismissal of Aimco suit against Airbnb over sublet apartments

A Miami judge refused to dismiss a suit filed against Airbnb by Aimco, a leading landlord that wants the home-sharing platform to stop listing its apartments in Miami and Miami Beach as vacation rentals. The judge rejected Airbnb’s argument that the company is not liable for listing information that hosts put on its online platform, claiming immunity under the 1996 Communications Decency Act. That…

Jeffrey Miller buys Beacon College Prep site in Opa-locka for $8.45 million

Jeffrey Miller’s Beacon College Prep Inc. just bought a charter school it operates in Opa-locka for $8.45 million. The deal for the school at 13400 Northwest 28th Avenue comes on the heels of the nonprofit’s application to expand to serve grades sixth through eight. In June, Miller submitted a proposal with Miami-Dade County to issue $11.9 million in revenue bonds from its Industrial Development Authority…

NFL player Elvis Dumervil picks up North Miami apartment building

NFL linebacker turned investor Elvis Dumervil just picked up a multifamily building in North Miami for $6.73 million, property records show. The 66-unit apartment building at 12300 Northeast 4th Avenue traded hands for about $102,000 per unit. The seller, Kina Investment Inc., is a Panamanian company led by Ettore Nardi. His company is tied to a Coral Gables-based property management firm…

Jeff Berkowitz scores $60 million refi for Kendall shopping center

Jeff Berkowitz’s Kendall Village Associates just closed on a $60 million loan from Ocean Bank for the refinancing of a 256,000 square-foot mixed-use shopping center in Kendall. The Kendall Village Center at 8705 Southwest 124th Avenue, along with an adjacent parcel, totals 27.4 acres and 13 buildings. Tenants include Regal Cinema, Old Navy, GAP, Chuck E. Cheese, Jared Jewelry, Pier 1 Imports, Duffy’s Sports…

Miami City Leaders Postpone Decision on David Beckham Soccer Stadium

Rendering of the privately funded $1 billion development called Miami Freedom Park proposed by David Beckham and Jorge Mas at Melreese Country Club near Miami International Airport. English soccer star David Beckham will have to wait six more days to learn whether Miami voters can decide the fate of his 25,000-seat stadium and mixed-use development on a city-owned golf course.

Situations when directors breach fiduciary duties

There are many different corporations in Florida. These corporations are set up to run businesses and ultimately make money for the shareholders of the corporation. However, since not all shareholders can effectively make decisions for the corporation, the shareholders of the corporation will select directors and officers to run the corporation. This means that the shareholders, who have invested their…

How Could Higher Tariffs Affect American Manufacturers?

The U.S. has recently been implementing significant changes in its trade policy. Among these changes, the U.S. is raising tariffs on a number of goods imported from China, which accounted for around $50 billion in 2017. On Tuesday, the U.S. announced an additional round of tariff hikes on imports from China.1 In this article, I restricted attention to imports from China affected by the tariff hike…

Beckham group will have to wait another week for city commission vote on Melreese stadium proposal

A whirlwind week for the Mas brothers and David Beckham – which included accusations of backroom deals with city officials and intentionally withholding details – ended with a game delay. The Mas-Beckham group is seeking a referendum on the November ballot asking Miami residents to approve or deny a no-bid lease agreement that would allow the group to redevelop the city-owned Melreese…

LGBTQ-oriented Axel Hotels to open first US location in South Beach

Axel Hotels, which focuses on the LGBTQ community, is opening its first location in the U.S. in South Beach. Axelbeach Miami will open at the former site of Hall South Beach at 1500 Collins Avenue by the end of the year, said Axel Hotels founder and president Juan Julià. It will mark the Barcelona-based company’s eighth flagged property and the only one outside Europe. “We’ve been looking for different…”

Miami-Dade committee backs Flagler site for new downtown courthouse

Six Miami-Dade County Commissioners are recommending that a 25,000-square-foot park on Flagler Street be the sole site for a new Miami-Dade Civic Courthouse. The unanimous vote came Tuesday morning during a chairman’s policy council meeting held in county chambers. The site item will come before the full 13-member county commission on July 24. County officials have been attempting to…

Leading South Florida Development Lender Bank of the Ozarks stock falls despite strong earnings, as growth could slow

Bank of the Ozarks stock fell Thursday morning after the Arkansas bank suggested during a conference call that its real estate lending growth could slow down, following its release of strong earnings late Wednesday. The Little Rock-based bank’s CEO, George Gleason, said during the call that pricing is getting more competitive for real estate lending and the flow of quality deals has slowed. The remarks are…

Optimum boosts financing for Ocean Drive hotel project in South Beach

Ricardo Tabet’s Optimum Development USA just secured $52 million in financing for the renovation and expansion of the former Park Central Hotel on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. BB&T is providing the financing, which takes over a previous $40 million loan and adds a new $12 million mortgage. Optimum has been working on the redevelopment since at least 2014, when it broke ground on the project…

Freshwater Group buys apartment complex in Miami Beach

The Freshwater Group is adding a batch of Miami Beach apartment buildings to its South Florida portfolio. Freshwater Group partner Joseph Sayegh said the firm is under contract to buy a rental complex consisting of three adjacent, two-story buildings at 7710, 7720 and 7700 Abbott Avenue for $5.6 million. The rental project features 36 units and is currently owned by City M Abbot LLC…

Philip Levine roomed with Craig Robins in college. The rest is history.

Gubernatorial candidate and real estate investor Philip Levine built his fortune thanks in part to a well-known Miami real estate family. Levine, a former mayor of Miami Beach and one of the leading Democrats running for governor of Florida, met Design District developer Craig Robins at the University of Michigan where they were roommates. In the mid-1990s, Robins’ father Jerry Robins agreed…

On the waterfront, prices are dropping

It might be difficult to fathom, but the price of living next to a body of water is becoming more affordable, a new report has found. Since 2012, when waterfront premiums reached a high of 54 percent in the second quarter, costs have dropped to a 36 percent premium in the first quarter of this year, according to Bloomberg. Citing a Zillow report, the current premium is even lower than the 1996 average of 41…

Trammell Crow, AvalonBay to Develop 350-Unit Multifamily Community Near Miami

Trammell Crow Residential, in partnership with AvalonBay Communities Inc., has unveiled plans to develop a 350-unit apartment community located at the corner of N.W. 36th Street and N.W. 79th Avenue in Doral, roughly 16 miles northwest of Miami. The residences will be part of a horizontally integrated mixed-use development that will feature 80,000 square feet of retail, which is under development…

Everything You Need to Know About David Beckham’s Latest $1 Billion Stadium Pitch

If it feels like you’ve already spent a full college education watching David Beckham and his partners flail around for a place to build a soccer stadium, you are not hallucinating. Miami is now living through Year Five of Beck’s never-ending Major League Soccer drama. This season promises a new location, new political plotting, and the ever-more-likely prospect of a really bad name for the franchise. Beck’s…

Beckham’s New Economic Projections for His Stadium Are Probably Nonsense

For the last 24 hours, Miami officials have been furiously pushing the latest pitch from David Beckham and financier Jorge Mas for a new soccer stadium at Melreese Country Club, largely by insisting the deal would pour millions into city coffers. City Manager Emilio Gonzalez repeatedly estimated that $44 million per year in new taxes could result, prompting reporters to ask: Where the hell are those numbers…

A Trendy Miami Neighborhood Is Getting … Jai Alai?

Miami’s trendy, and largely residential, Edgewater neighborhood could soon be home to a new gambling facility with poker and jai alai. Operators of Miami’s Magic City Casino won state approval last week to run “summer jai alai” on a site at 3030 Biscayne Blvd. Edgewater lies just north of downtown Miami and borders Biscayne Bay. Recent luxury condo developments there include Elysee, Paraiso Bay and…

Beckham’s New Stadium Site Sits on Toxic Waste That Could Cost Millions to Move

Ever since retired soccer star David Beckham and his new partners, Jorge and Jose Mas, abruptly abandoned their Overtown stadium plans and pivoted to the Melreese Country Club near Miami International Airport, skeptics have piled on about potential hangups: the traffic, the loss of a city-owned golf course, the last-minute proposal that could hand the Mas brothers a profit bonanza. But virtually everyone…

Common Co-Living Lands In Miami

In this emerging format of multifamily development, residents have their own private rooms but share kitchens and other areas; it is related to a dorm or hostel, but with stylish furniture, group yoga classes and rents commensurate with an upscale experience. Common, a New York-based company that operates 20 co-living sites in major cities, is expanding into Miami with two brand-new developments in…

TA Realty Sells $35 Million Miami Office Campus

TA Realty has completed the sale of Kendall Summit Office Park, a six-building campus totaling 173,661 square feet in Miami. COFE Properties acquired the asset for $34.8 million. Cushman & Wakefield brokered the transaction and arranged $26 million in acquisition financing. The non-recourse loan bears a low interest rate and it will fund future property improvements and leasing expenses. Located…

Video: Profiling the Richest People in United States Real Estate

This video profiles the top five richest people in U.S. real estate, according to Forbes magazine. Among those profiled (spoiler alert) are Richard LeFrak, John Sobrato, Miami Dolphins owner Steven Ross, Stephen Schwarzman, and Donald Bren. The richest of these owners over 115 million square feet of real estate.

What Does The Heat Up In Big Industrial Transactions Portend?

It came out that Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is putting IDI Logistics, one of the world’s leading investors and developers of logistics real estate, on the block, according to Bloomberg News. While the asking price has not been disclosed, IDI Logistics, which was acquired by Brookfield for $1.1 billion in 2014, is expected to fetch about $5 billion. Last year, Brookfield also sold Glazeley, a 33 million-sq.-ft.

South Florida Office Investors Pick Up Sales Pace in Second Quarter

PGIM Inc.’s $248.5 million sale of the Sabadell Financial Center at 1111 Brickell Avenue. in Miami to a joint venture of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Parkway Property Investments was the biggest office sale of the second quarter. South Florida’s sluggish office sales increased dramatically in the second quarter, fueled in part by the second-highest price paid for an office property in the market since 2012.

Planning and Zoning discuss Coconut Grove Playhouse

There is a meeting tonight, Monday, July 9, where the Coconut Grove Playhouse will be discussed. The Planning Board will hear from the County who will ask for zoning approvals to start the project. There are lawsuits pertaining to the Playhouse so no matter what the Planning & Zoning Board decides tonight, nothing will probably proceed. In December, the City Commission discussed the Coconut…

Nick Miceli: Plans six more South Florida TD Bank locations in year

Nick Miceli celebrated two decades with TD Bank in November by moving from his native New Jersey to the Sunshine State, where as Metro Florida regional president he plans to expand the company while preparing for its future. “I was attracted to the growth I’ve seen in the South Florida market, specifically Miami, and there is a tremendous amount of opportunity,” he said, adding the bank is building…

Appraisers find David Beckham’s soccer site rent should double offering price

Two property appraisal firms reached similar conclusions regarding the proposed redevelopment of the Melreese Golf Course, stating the highest and best use would include higher density mixed-use with retail and office components. David Beckham’s group wants to turn more than half of the site into a commercial office tech campus, along with a hotel and conference center, retail and entertainment…

Coral Gables bars bike and scooter leasing, takes a spin with Spin

An emergency ordinance to ban shared scooters and bikes passed unanimously on Tuesday at the Coral Gables commission meeting. This ordinance does not stop the city from entering into an official agreement with a shared mobility company. Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli called for the emergency ordinance, citing numerous citizen complaints of dockless scooters and bikes left on private property and in city…

David Beckham’s MLS stadium set for key city vote

The revised plan would see the controversial arena replace Miami’s Melreese Country Club David Beckham’s five-year push to bring a new professional MLS soccer team and stadium to Miami could be drawing to a close as the city prepares to vote on a plan to turn Melreese Country Club into a $1 billion mixed-use complex known as Freedom Park.

New looks at downtown Miami’s upcoming YotelPad project

As developers prepare to break ground on Miami’s 31-story YotelPad project, newly released renderings provide the best glimpse yet of the unusual combination hotel and residential concept. Slated to rise at 227 NE 2nd Street, the downtown development represents the first East Coast location for Yotel—a company fast making a name for itself with design-focused, millennial-friendly micro lodging.

Atlantic Pacific Communities and Miami-Dade County to begin working on deal for affordable and workforce housing in Overtown

A proposal to build 360 affordable and workforce housing apartments in Overtown near Miami Worldcenter and Brightline’s MiamiCentral development is gaining traction. Miami-Dade commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved negotiating a deal with Atlantic Pacific Communities to develop a $172.8 million mixed-use project with a total of 600 residential units on a 90,000-square-foot parking lot at…

Afin Developer Group wins approval for new Cambria Hotel in North Miami Beach

The Afin Developer Group won approval from the North Miami Beach Planning and Zoning Board for a 129-room Cambria Hotel at 163rd Street and 19th Avenue. The new plan is for a smaller hotel than originally approved in 2015. The development will now span seven stories and 170,425 square feet, with 18,227 square feet of retail. Afin’s original plan had called for a 231,045 square-foot, 11-story development…

Century Homebuilders plans apartment complex near Merrick Park

Century Homebuilders Group and a Colombia-based real estate fund, Pactia USA, are teaming up to build an apartment complex near the Shops at Merrick Park in Coral Gables. Property records show the partnership bought two vacant parcels of land on the southeast corner of Bird Road and Southwest 42nd Avenue for $6.3 million. Century Laguna, an affiliate of Century Homebuilders, was the seller. Century…

Cervera Real Estate Ventures buys Hialeah shopping center, plans renovations

Cervera R.E. Ventures is entering Hialeah’s hot commercial market. The company just paid $11.3 million for a shopping center at 3800 West 12th Avenue, with plans to reposition and renovate the property, President Javier Cervera Jr. said. It’s the company’s first acquisition in the city. The seller is an affiliate of Leon Medical Centers. Records show W 12th Ave Investment, led by Michael Shealy, bought the…

Wall Street has more money than ever to buy single-family rentals

Investors are raising billions of dollars from bond buyers, pension funds and even wealthy individuals for the single-family home rental market. “We’re seeing a wider variety of investors coming into this asset class: sovereign-wealth funds, insurance companies, hedge funds, pensions, asset managers,” Sandeep Bordia, head of research and analytics for Amherst Capital Management LLC, told the Wall Street…

Miami is Going Small with Micro Units and Co-Living

Micro-sized apartments and co-living spaces are on their way to Miami, filling a desperate need for more affordable housing. With a median income hovering around 20 percent lower than the national average and with almost 50 percent of all Miami residents overwhelmed by housing costs, developers are looking for creative ways to make living near the city center affordable, especially for…

FECI plans Fort Lauderdale Brightline office tower

Florida East Coast Industries is planning to build a Fort Lauderdale Brightline office and retail tower, amid demand for new office development. FECI aims to build 101 Fort Lauderdale, a 14-story building at 101 Northwest Third Street Street in downtown Fort Lauderdale. It will feature 175,000 square feet of office space across 7 floors and 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and amenities.

Renderings revealed: Beckham’s Miami Freedom Park, YotelPad, more

David Beckham’s group just released a rendering of its proposed mixed-use soccer complex. The Miami City Commission will vote this week on whether to place the proposal on a November referendum. Beckham’s partner Jorge Mas calls the project Miami Freedom Park. The entire development includes a 25,000-seat stadium, 110 acres of green space, 400,000 square feet of office space…

Elion Partners picks up warehouse in northwest Miami-Dade

Elion Partners just picked up a warehouse in northwest Miami-Dade for $7.23 million, property records show. The 59,135-square-foot warehouse at 2875 Northwest 77th Avenue traded for about $120 per square foot. The seller is a family-owned distribution company called South Dade Automotive. It operated out of the building before selling its business in 2015 to U.S. AutoForce, a Wisconsin-based…

Coastal Construction sued over alleged unpaid work at Porsche Design Tower

A subcontractor that worked on Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach is alleging Coastal Construction owes the firm at least $1.42 million in unpaid work and supplies. Zarrella Construction, a Davie-based subcontractor, filed the suit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court last month. Coastal allegedly failed to fully pay Zarrella for its work framing, insulating, drywalling and painting of Porsche Design, a 132…

The current state of CocoWalk

This is the current state of CocoWalk this week, they are well on their way to constructing their new office building. They’ve been quite efficient in the demolition, I had pictured Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball or something and heavy equipment taking over Virginia Street, but they managed to get the structure down with the heavy equipment inside rather than outside the structure.

Electric Car Charging Operators Offering To Install Chargers In Buildings For Free

A recent survey of 500 Tesla drivers found that owners of the Model X earn an average salary of $503K, while owners of the Model S earn about $267K. For a landlord or business owner, that is just the sort of well-heeled person you want renting your unit or perusing the goods in your store while she waits for her car to charge up. Courtesy of Brickell Energy Developers can add EV charging stations to…

Report: Billionaire developer Jeffrey Soffer triggers prosecution of fake “sultan”

The Miami Herald reported that billionaire real estate developer Jeffrey Soffer triggered an investigation that led to the prosecution of a Colombian-born con man who pretended to be a rich Saudi “sultan” and a diplomat. Soffer initially believed Anthony Gignac when he posed as a Saudi prince and expressed interest in paying $440 million for 30 percent ownership of one of Soffer’s hotels, according…

Average June rents reached record high nationwide, as Manhattan again led the way

The national average apartment rent ticked up nearly 3 percent in June compared to the year before, reaching a record $1,405 a month thanks to sharp growth in smaller markets. Manhattan cemented its standing as the nation’s most expensive place to rent with a 1.5 percent increase over last year, to $4,116. San Francisco was a distant second at $3,561 a month. Manhattan’s rent bump…

Miami-based firm pays $14m for affordable housing sites on Stock Island

Miami-based Integra Investments paid more than $14 million to acquire land for the development of affordable housing on Stock Island, a working-class community located next to Key West. From December to April, Integra acquired nine acres on Stock Island for the development of more than 250 residential units. The acquired land on Stock Island is located at three addresses: 6325 First Street, 6125…

Co-working space operator URBIN buys Coral Gables office building for $12.5M

A co-working space operator called URBIN acquired an office building in Coral Gables for $12.5 million. URBIN bought the 52,719-square-foot office building at 299 Alhambra Circle for about $237 per square foot, according to Rishi Kapoor, CEO of Coral Gables-based Location Ventures. The five-story office building was sold by Coral Gables Financial Center, managed by Shawn Khosravi, who also is an investor…

Developer envisions new mixed-use project for Wynwood

The conceptual plan calls for a mix of retail, office, residential, and hospitality uses The transformation of Miami’s vibrant Wynwood neighborhood is poised to take another step forward thanks to a new mixed-use development in the works for the Wynwood Gateway Complex at the intersection of Northwest 2th Avenue and 29th Street. According to property owner and developer Metro 1, the acre…

Mall landlords tighten screws on non-anchor tenants

The exodus of anchor tenants from America’s malls has landlords rethinking a lease clause that is popular with smaller tenants. Owners have traditionally granted smaller tenants co-tenancy clauses, allowing the businesses to exit a lease if a major anchor store like Macy’s or J.C. Penney departs the mall. But that may be changing. The steady exodus of anchor tenants at malls nationwide in recent years has…

Reality TV producer and real estate investor buys Aventura office building for $13.5 million

Reality TV’s the TurnAround King just paid $13.5 million for an office building in Aventura. Property records show Grant Cardone, who produces and stars in his TV show, paid about $540 per foot for the Northern Trust Bank building at 18901 Northeast 29th Avenue. Guarapo Aventura LLC, led by real estate investor Matthew Lvoff, sold the 25,000-square-foot building to Cardone’s 10X HQ LLC.

Magic City Casino owners win state approval for Edgewater casino and jai-alai

After winning a long legal battle with the state, the owners of Magic City Casino can move forward with their plans to build a casino in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. Florida’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering just approved a necessary permit that would allow the Magic City owners to feature jai-alai sport games at the facility, according to the Miami Herald. For years, the Havenick family has…

Lennar buys 32 acres in south Miami-Dade

Lennar just paid $9.5 million for about 32 acres near Homestead, adding to the string of acquisitions the Miami-based homebuilder has made recently in south Miami-Dade County. Records show a company tied to iStar Financial sold the three parcels at 11406 Southwest 248th Street, near the Florida Turnpike, for about $29,000 per acre. IStar’s SFI Palm Tree Farms LLC purchased the lots in 2012 through…

Healthy amenity: Ritz Residences Miami Beach offers medical concierge service for buyers

Forget about the yoga studio, spa service and fitness center, the latest condominium amenity is just what the doctor ordered. The developer of the Ritz-Carlton Residences Miami Beach, is partnering with South Beach Diet founder Dr. Arthur Agatston to offer buyers a yearlong membership to a medical concierge service. When buyers close on their units later this year, they’ll be provided access to the…

South Florida to Amazon: Come for the Lifestyle and Location, Not the ‘Corporate Welfare’

Business development leaders in South Florida are insisting they won’t be offering massive financial incentives to land Amazon’s second headquarters. “We are not going to do that, and we don’t think we need to,” said Bob Swindell, chief executive officer of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance. Local officials still won’t say what they are offering Amazon to come to the region as part of the internet giant’s…

Metro 1 Development Seeks JV Partnership to Co-Develop Mixed-Use Property on Prime Wynwood Gateway Site

Tony Cho, CEO of Metro 1, South Florida’s leading real estate brokerage, management and development firm, is seeking joint venture hospitality partner(s) to co-develop an innovative mixed-use hospitality, office, retail and/or residential project on the Wynwood Gateway site located at the intersection of Northwest 2nd Avenue and 29th Street. The approximately one-acre property is comprised of a…

ASB Acquires 302,000 SF Hialeah Industrial Property Near Miami Airport for $24.3 Million

ASB Real Estate Investments has acquired a 302,000-square-foot industrial property in Hialeah for $24.3 million. The warehouse is located at 215 S.E. 10th Avenue, roughly 12 miles northwest of Miami and roughly two miles from Miami International Airport. The facility includes 23,000 square feet of office space and is fully leased on a long-term basis to Synergy Custom Fixtures, a custom counters and fixture…

Hellmann Trades Miami-Area HQ for $43 Million

The $43.1 million sale was brokered of the Hellmann Worldwide Logistics facility, a 240,666-square-foot property in Doral. Industrial Logistics Properties Trust, managed by The RMR Group, acquired the industrial asset from Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. Located at 10450 N.W. 41st Street, the building has served as Hellmann’s North American headquarters since its construction in 1996. As a…

National Real Estate Investor Lists Miami Among Eight Busiest Cities for Hotel Development

Strong local economies keep hotel developers coming back to cities like New York, Dallas and Miami. In these markets, developers are building both a large number of new rooms and a high overall number of new projects. “A lot of the construction is in ‘upscale,’ … a lot don’t have extensive food and beverage,” says Bobby Bowers, senior vice president of operations for STR Inc., a provider of hotel market…

Partnership buys Coral Way apartments near Brickell for $13M

CFH Group principal Tom Cabrerizo and Maurice Cayon of Cayon Development Group just picked up an apartment complex on Coral Way near Brickell for $12.8 million, property records show. Dalton Properties Inc., led by Alfredo Sesana and Paul Garcia, sold the 88-unit complex at 2110 Southwest Third Avenue for about $145,700 per apartment. The two eight-story buildings were completed in 1994 on…

ASB Real Estate Acquires Miami Industrial Facility

ASB Real Estate Investments has acquired a 10.5-acre industrial property in Miami’s submarket of Hialeah, for $24.3 million. The facility is 100 percent leased on a long-term basis to Synergy Custom Fixtures, a custom counters and fixtures manufacturer. Terreno Realty Corp. sold the asset on behalf of the Allegiance Real Estate Fund, its $6.9 billion core vehicle. This comes off the heels of its $20.3 million sale…

Why is it so difficult to live where you work? : Housing costs and home ownership in economic centers

In some areas of the U.S., housing has become so expensive that people find it difficult or impossible to afford housing anywhere near where they work. The recent focus on the homeless population in Los Angeles highlights the most extreme form of this situation: Many of the homeless in that area are not only employed, but also are experiencing homelessness for the first time. Unaffordable housing and…

South Florida office market cools off in the first half of 2018: report

South Florida’s once-booming office market is slowing down, according to a recent report by JLL. After numerous consecutive quarters of growth, net absorption went into the red in all three counties as supply surpassed demand in the second quarter. Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties also saw vacancy rates rise, signaling a slowdown in the market. In Miami-Dade, net absorption was negative…

Gables Residential sells apartment complex near Aventura to RREEF for $149M

Gables Residential just sold the 400-unit mixed-use apartment complex, Gables Aventura, to RREEF Property Trust, an arm of Deutsche Bank asset management. RREEF affiliate RAR2 20080 West Dixie Highway LLC paid about $372,500 per unit for the apartment and townhome community at 19920 West Dixie Highway in the Ojus neighborhood, near Aventura, according to property records. Atlanta…

These are the top real estate law firms in South Florida

Greenberg Traurig land-use attorney Iris Escarra works on the front line of real estate law in Miami-Dade County, and these days, she’s busy. Very busy. With much of Miami’s prime land already built on, many developers are looking to buy and repurpose lots with vertical projects that combine retail below and offices and residences above, sometimes with a hotel and public transit access, too. That gives…

Submarkets with the Most Exceptional Class B Rent Growth in South Florida

It’s no secret that Class B (3-Star) rent growth has outperformed Class A (4- and 5-Star) rent growth recently in South Florida. This is primarily due to construction, as virtually all new supply this cycle has consisted of luxury inventory and it competes primarily with existing Class A product, suppressing rent growth in those assets. On the other hand, value-add renovations and other improvements in the…

A notice of claim of construction defect is suit

Construction is big business in South Florida, with its booming commercial real estate market. Occasionally, the rush to complete a project or development – or perhaps faulty engineering or design – can result in construction defects. When a construction defect is discovered in Florida, the typical procedure under state law is to file a notice of construction defect with the general contractor of the project. This is…

A look at South Florida’s new class of real estate tech disruptors

Resistance to change in the real estate industry is fading away as new technologies become ingrained in the day-to-day business of buying, selling and developing properties. The creators and backers of new real estate tech say they hope to change things in the same way that disruptive new services have revolutionized other aspects of modern life, such as Amazon changing the way we shop and…

South Florida is coming off its EB-5 addiction

A program that was once described as the “crack cocaine of real estate financing” no longer seems to hold the same addiction for South Florida’s developers. In 2014 and 2015, Rodrigo Azpurua’s Riviera Point Development Group financed two projects entirely with capital raised from the EB-5 program, which gives foreign investors a green card in exchange for investing in job-creating U.S. projects. At the…

A little Arkansas bank is funding much of SoFla’s condo boom. What could go wrong?

Overlooking a small lake in a quiet area of Mid Beach, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach was pegged as an upscale European oasis in South Florida. Ophir Sternberg, a native of Israel who moved to Miami in 2009, tapped Italian architect Piero Lissoni to design the project, where homes would range in price from $2 million to $40 million. It was Lissoni’s first U.S. venture, and Sternberg hoped to use…

Developer Yair Levy pays $15 million for building in downtown Miami

Developer and New York investor Yair Levy made his first real estate purchase in South Florida, and he doesn’t plan to stop at one. Levy’s Time Century Holdings paid $14.5 million for the Metro Mall building, a development site in the heart of downtown Miami’s jewelry district, at 1 Northeast First Street. Levy plans to renovate the 225,000-square-foot building, according to a press release. The building…

Apartment investors buy former defunct condo development in Cutler Bay

A group led by Bankers Healthcare Group CEO Robert Castro paid $14.2 million for a converted apartment complex in Cutler Bay. Southwood Apartments, a 144-unit complex at 19800 Southwest 110th Court, was operating as a condo project until about a year ago, according to a press release. CMG Capital affiliate BMC Southwood LLC sold the property to Courtyards at Cutler Bay LLC for about…

Little Havana nursing home and rehab center scores $23M loan to expand

Victoria Nursing and Rehabilitation Center just secured a $23.2 million loan from Ocean Bank to purchase additional space at its Little Havana location and expand the facility by 48 beds. Victoria Nursing and Rehabilitation Center used the loan to purchase three stories of an eight-story office condominium building and the parking garage at 955 Northwest Third Street in Miami, according to a press release.

Metro Mall Building to Become Part of Miami’s Jewelry District

An investor-developer banned from selling condominiums and co-ops in the state of New York plans to renovate the vacant Metro Mall building in downtown Miami and turn it into a gem worthy of the city’s Jewelry District. Yair Levy’s Time Century Holdings bought the 225,000-square-foot property at 1 NE 1st St. for $14.5 million from a group tied to Aaron Realty Corp of Miami. The site, once a Richards…

Multifamily Investors Are Getting Used to ‘Normal’

U.S. housing construction remains low, and still trails population growth, said John Affleck, CoStar’s director of analytics. “Ongoing deliveries of highly-amenitized, high-rent product will limit rent growth at the high end of the market, but older and more suburban product will continue to outperform.” It may sound like bad news for the apartment sector: rent growth may stay relatively flat in the…

Casino giant Genting Group gears up for hotel/county bus terminal combo

Construction related to a mixed-use development encompassing the Omni bus terminal, Adrienne Arsht Center Metromover station and a planned hotel and retail center should begin before December, according to county transportation spokesperson Karla Damian. Resorts World Miami, a subsidiary of Malaysian casino giant Genting Group, is to build a temporary bus station east of the current Omni…

Related Group’s affordable housing group wins Liberty Square

The second phase of a large mixed-use affordable housing project set in the heart of the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami is ready to start, and the developer is working to earn necessary approvals. Related Urban Development Group, Related Group’s affordable-housing affiliate, presented plans for Liberty Square Rising Phase 2 to the city’s Urban Development Review Board. The board recommended…

Southeast Fisheries Science Center all at sea as move decision awaited

Since two resolutions urging the US Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to retain the Southeast Fisheries Science Center on Virginia Key have been adopted, no official decision has yet been made about the facility’s location. NOAA has been considering moving the facility to St. Petersburg. The building on Virginia Key is reportedly out of date…

Surfside’s ‘Arte’ condos top out

The 16-unit luxury development is the first U.S. building by the renowned Italian architect Construction on a new mid-rise condo development in Miami’s Surfside neighborhood hit a milestone last week as crews topped-off the 12-story ‘Arte’ project at 8955 Collins Avenue. The upcoming oceanfront residences come from Italian architect Antonio Citterio in collaboration with local architect Kobi Karp.

Co-living firm Common moves into Miami

Co-living operator Common is coming to Miami. The company is partnering with developer and broker Carlos Fausto Miranda to open its first location in South Florida, founder and CEO Brad Hargreaves said. Miranda, president of Fausto Commercial, will build 65 rooms in two new buildings near the intersection of Southwest Fifth Avenue and Southwest Seventh Street, in what’s considered East…

Miami Beach to negotiate convention center hotel deal with Jackie Soffer and David Martin

Miami Beach officials will soon begin hammering out a deal with the development team led by Jackie Soffer and David Martin to build a new convention center hotel. On Monday, the city commission voted unanimously to let city manager Jimmy Morales negotiate the proposed terms with Miami Beach Connect, the development entity created by the powerhouse builders proposing an 185-foot-tall…

AccorHotels to buy half of Sam Nazarian’s SBE Entertainment

Hotelier Sam Nazarian has a new partner from across the pond. Paris-based AccorHotels plans to buy a 50 percent stake in Nazarian’s SBE Entertainment Group for $125 million, according to Hotel Business. Nazarian would continue to own the other 50 percent of the company and also run the company as CEO. AccorHotel’s stake was held in part by Cain International. AccorHotels is using the merger as a means…

Riviera Point secures $16.5 million loan for Radisson Red hotel near Miami airport

Riviera Point Development Group just secured a $16.5 million construction loan from Centennial Bank to help finance construction of a Radisson Red hotel near Miami International Airport. In all, Riviera Point will spend $34.5 million on construction of the 155-key hotel at 3401 Northwest 25th Street. The developer, led by Rodrigo Azpurua, broke ground on the project in December and recently topped out…

Miami Faces an Underwater Future

In Miami, the rising sea is already an ineluctable part of daily life. Everyone is affected—whether storm flooding forces a small-business owner to shut down for a few days (at tremendous cost), or daily tides hinder students commuting to school, or the retreating coastline forces people to abandon their homes. There are other, less obvious, but equally troubling impacts. People’s increased contact with…

Freshwater Group buys apartment complex in Hialeah for $10M

New York investment firm Freshwater Group just picked another apartment complex in Hialeah, this time paying $10.4 million for the property. The 76-unit complex at 1105 and 1085 West 76 Street sold for about $137,000 per unit. It was built in 1968, and includes studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. The seller, Mikon Financial Services, Inc., is led by Juan Carlos Capote, Richard Capote…

Don King KO’d His Plan for ‘Mini-Madison Square Garden’ in Florida, So Why Won’t He Sell the Land?

Nineteen years ago this summer, boxing promoter Don King vowed in typically flamboyant fashion to turn a long-shuttered jai alai fronton in Palm Beach County, FL into a “mini-Madison Square Garden.” The 53-acre site at 1415 45th St. in the tiny town of Mangonia Park is adjacent to the northernmost Tri-Rail commuter train station…

Redland Florida Industrial Agricultural Land Sold

A commercial broker has just sold ten acres located at 21250 SW 167th Avenue in Redland, Florida. The property is located in un-incorporated Miami-Dade County and has dual-zoning: industrial / agricultural. The final sales price was $1,550,000 or about $155,000 per acre. The buyer and new owner is Gabriel Serrano with Aeroservicios USA who will use the property for outside storage. The financing…

Home builder DR Horton pays $6 million for 20 vacant acres near Florida City

DR Horton bought 20 vacant acres just east of the Florida Keys Outlet Marketplace in Florida City. Home builder DR Horton Inc. bought 20 acres of vacant land near Florida City for $6 million. The seller, Newport Development Partners, had acquired the land in 2015 for $1.3 million. The 20-acre property is at the southeast corner of Southwest 336 Street and Southwest 172 Avenue,  just east of the Florida Keys…

City of Homestead may demolish its “field of dreams” baseball stadium

The city of Homestead may demolish its deteriorating baseball stadium, built nearly 30 years ago to serve as a spring training site for Major League Baseball teams. The city government has solicited bids to demolish the pink stadium, formally known as the Homestead Sports Complex, which hasn’t been used for decades. Dennis Maytan, director of parks and public works in Homestead, told the Miami…

Boutique hotel and coworking space headed to Little Havana

The historic Jazz Age building will be the first U.S. location of the Selina brand Little Havana’s historic Tower Hotel building is just months away from reopening as the first U.S. location of Selina, a fast-growing combination lodging and coworking company with a strong presence in Latin America. The renovation will open a new chapter for the old 1920s-era building at 1450 SW 7th Street that previously…

Miami Beach’s short-term rental fines challenged on constitutional grounds

A Miami Beach property owner is accusing the city of engaging in discriminatory practices when it comes to cracking down on short-term rentals. Natalie Nichols filed a civil rights lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on Wednesday, alleging the city’s practice of levying five-figure fines on some residents who list their properties on Airbnb and other home-sharing websites violates the Florida Constitution.

Foreign dollars continue to pour into US commercial market: report

Foreign investment in U.S. commercial real estate remained strong last year, despite a major pullback from Chinese companies that have been hampered by capital controls its government has imposed. Despite those restrictions, Chinese investors made up the biggest share of foreign buyers in the U.S. at 20 percent, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.

MV Group sells Design District building for $10M

Developer Manny Varas just sold a newly-built property in the Design District for $10.1 million, a considerable markdown from its listed price. Perpetual Love Acquisitions LLC, a Delaware company, closed on the Mediterranean-style, three-story building at 4136 North Miami Avenue, said Dwntwn Realty Advisors’ Tony Arellano and David Spitz, who represented the seller. The 16,900-square-foot building…

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics sells Doral HQ for $43M

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics just sold its North American headquarters in Doral to Industrial Logistics Properties Trust for $43.1 million. The industrial real estate investment trust paid about $180 per square foot for the 240,700-square-foot property at 10450 NW 41st Street. Hellmann Worldwide, which is one of the largest full-service logistics companies in the world, said it…

Invicta watch exec buys industrial site in Hollywood

A company tied to Invicta Watch Group’s president and chief executive Eyal Lalo just bought land in Hollywood and scored construction financing to build a planned industrial facility, property records show. The 6.4-acre site at 3080 Sheridan Street traded for $7.5 million, or about $27 per square foot. It sits near the Sheridan Street Tri-Rail Station and I-95. City National Bank is providing the $7.5 million…

Is Slowing Lease Activity in Miami the Harbinger of a Weakening Market?

Absorption of industrial space fell by 42 percent year-over-year in Miami last year, the most significant drop of the cycle. Since leasing in the industrial sector had been going well in South Florida, is this the harbinger of slowing demand, or simply a timing issue? Developers finally caught up with surging industrial demand and delivered 3.3 million square feet in 2017, a record number for the cycle and…

Video: Green Street Advisors CEO Craig Leupold Expects Increased M&A, Privatization Activity

In a recent interview, Craig Leupold, the CEO of Green Street Advisors, a company providing real estate data and analytics for improved decision-making with insights to help investors understand, forecast, and capitalize on changing market conditions, shares views on commercial property valuation, interest rate expectations, and activism. He describes his firm’s evolving approach to valuation with the…

The Closing: Arnaud Karsenti

What drives developer Arnaud Karsenti? For one, this bit of wisdom: Anything worth having must be earned. His persistence during the recession is a case in point. The 40-year-old founder of 13th Floor Investments launched his Miami-based private real estate investment and development firm in 2008, focusing on distressed assets amid the downturn. When the market improved, the company turned to…

$220 Million racetrack and private club planned for Opa-Locka airport

Developers are planning a $220 million racetrack and private club at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. Neil Gehani and Jay Pollak expect to open the Concours Club by May 2019, complete with more than 2 miles of racetrack and a slew of high-end amenities. They’re offering 40 founding members at $350,000 each with no annual dues. Those members would then be able to invite others to buy up to…

Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables is getting a $25 million makeover

In an effort to stay competitive, the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables is undergoing a $25 million renovation. The interiors of the 92-year-old historic hotel, built by Coral Gables founder George Merrick and hotelier John McEntee Bowman, are being renovated, as is the 18-hole golf course, designed by Donald Ross. The funding will come in part from the city, which recently voted to allow the hotel to use half…

Kendall Office Park Trades for $13 Million Loss

TA Realty took a $13.25 million loss on the Kendall Summit Office Park after buying the campus in Kendall, FL near the peak of the last real estate cycle. The 173,661-square-foot campus, built between 1984 and 1989 at 11400-11440 N. Kendall Drive, is now 27 percent vacant. Current tenants include BB&T, Keller Williams and Quest Diagnostics.

Okan Tower Will Redefine Downtown Miami As Florida’s Tallest Skyscraper

Miami is a booming international city. Soon, it will be blooming too. Okan Tower, a 70-story flower-shaped architectural wonder will anchor the city’s surging skyline, ultimately unfolding as the tallest skyscraper in Florida. When completed, the versatile mix-used tower will soar 890 feet over downtown Miami (eclipsing the 868-foot-tall Panorama Tower), comprising a 294-room branded Hilton Hotel…

Turkish Billionaire Developing Florida’s Tallest Skyscraper Says More Are Coming

Developer Bekir Okan made his billions in Turkey, but he is spending some of that fortune in Miami, where he is developing the $300M Okan Tower, which was inspired by the shape of a tulip. At 890 feet tall, it will eclipse Florida’s current tallest tower, the 868-foot Panorama Tower, which opened this month. Bisnow caught up with Okan via email to discuss his project and future plans in Miami. Bisnow: Tell me…

TA Realty sells Kendall office park to Cofe Properties for $34 million

TA Realty Cofe Properties just bought a six-building office park in Kendall for $34.75 million from TA Realty. The Miami-based commercial real estate firm paid about $200 per square foot for the 174,000-square-foot property known as the Kendall Summit Office Park for $200 per square foot at 11400, 11410, 11420, 11430, and 11440 North Kendall Drive. It secured a $26 million non…

South Florida’s Commercial Market Post Gains Across All Sectors

According to the new 1Q 2018 The Quarterly Report – South Florida Commercial Real Estate released this week by data firm Vizzda and the MIAMI Association of Realtors, South Florida’s multifamily real estate transactions jumped 8.5 percent year-over-year in 1Q 2018 and per-unit multifamily prices increased in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. “Increasing population, job growth and rising…

Miami’s Multifamily Market Sees Prolonged Sales Activity for First Time in Years

Driven by the delivery of new product, the Miami multifamily market is experiencing a period of increased transaction activity. Always in high demand, but generally a thinly traded market, Miami has seen a significantly higher volume of market-rate multifamily sales in the last two years. While Miami-Dade County has maintained strong fundamentals overall, its sales volume has historically trailed nearby…

Square Mile antes up $217M office loan for 1111 Brickell

Square Mile Capital Management originated a $217million loan secured by 1111 Brickell, a 30-story 522,000 s/f office building in the Brickell submarket of Miami, Florida. KKR and Parkway Property Investments, acquired the asset and will complete an extensive capital improvement plan to solidify the property’s position as a best-in-class office building. The financing includes proceeds to fund the…

Selina hotel brand plans expansion into Miami market

Selina, a hospitality brand that combines co-living, co-working, hotel and hostel, has tapped Miami as its first major U.S. expansion city.
The company is looking to acquire and redevelop up to 2,000 beds in Miami, said Steven Ohayan, vice president of business development. It’s starting with the former Tower Hotel property in Little Havana’s neighborhood. Selina plans to open that property, a 62-key hotel…

How hot can South Florida’s industrial market get?

Industrial properties may not be the sexiest parcels in commercial real estate, but they’re certainly making buyers salivate these days. Increasingly, investors are willing to go to greater and greater lengths to land these properties, outbidding others even when it means accepting lower returns, commercial brokers said. As land availability continues to shrink and rents…

Elit Breaks Ground on Miami-Area Retail Development

Elit has begun work on a retail center in Miramar, Fla., dubbed The Grove at Miramar. The company already secured several tenants for the $15 million, four-building project. GD Construction is the general contractor of the retail plaza, which is slated for completion in July 2019. The Miami-area retail center will be situated on the southeastern corner of Miramar Boulevard and South Flamingo Road…

Value-Add Rental Properties in South Florida Sell for $90M

A Denver-based real estate firm that already owns six multifamily properties in South Florida picked up two more, paying $90 million for the Sundance Village Apartments in Miami and the Gardens at Nova (pictured, right) in Davie, FL. Grand Peaks Properties acquired the two communities from Poinciana Properties Inc. of Coral Gables, FL for more than $202,000 per unit. Poinciana marketed the two rentals as…

Downtown Miami Office Supply Trends

Office construction has finally returned to Downtown Miami after several stagnant years, with most of it in the form of mixed-use projects. Few pure office towers of significant size broke ground in recent years, at least not within the urban core. The majority of office construction this cycle has occurred out in the suburbs — and this is true for all three of South Florida’s counties. While new office space…

Experts Round-Up: How Retail Centers Need to Adapt to Successfully Engage Millennials

The millennial generation is quickly becoming an important demographic in the economy as they begin to graduate from their respective scholarly institutions, get jobs, and contribute more into the workforce while progressing their careers. According to Pew Research Center in 2017 Millennials already comprised 35% of the labor force with some estimates stating that the percentage…

South Grove’s historic Marjory Stoneman Douglas cottage added to list of threatened sites

A preservation group included the tiny cottage in its annual list of most endangered Florida properties The former Coconut Grove home of notable environmentalist, writer, and women’s suffrage advocate Marjory Stoneman Douglas was singled out as a threatened historic property by the nonprofit Florida Trust for Historic Preservation in its annual “11 to Save” list. Built in 1926, the modest 900-square-foot…

New Design District condos with stylish rooftop terraces ready to open

Say hello to the new One Bay Residences One Bay Residences, a collection of 38 contemporary townhouse condominiums is now complete and ready to welcome its first residents. Available in both single floor and multi-story layouts, the development at 455 NE 39th Street in Miami’s Design District is the first of its kind in the neighborhood and offers a niche alternative to the area’s many new high…

Duke Realty drops $180M at Hialeah industrial park

Hialeah’s industrial market just got hotter. Duke Realty just dropped $180 million at Flagler Global Logistics’ 8 million-square-foot industrial park on the northwest corner of Northwest 154th Street and and Northwest 97th Avenue. Countyline Corporate Park is being developed by Flagler Global Logistics, a subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries. Flagler assembled the 95-acre site in 2005 for a…

Finvarb Group taps Thompson Hotels for its South Beach hotel project

Thompson Hotels is looking to make a return to South Florida with an eight-story hotel project proposed by the Finvarb Group near the Miami Beach Convention Center. Denver-based Two Roads Hospitality and the Finvarb Group announced that they would launch the 150-room hotel at 1685 Washington Avenue under the Thompson Hotels brand. Thompson Hotels last had a presence in Miami Beach in…

Affordable housing investor picks up apartment complex in North Miami

Affordable Housing Development Services just picked up an apartment community in North Miami for $13 million. The complex at 14560 Northeast Sixth Avenue consists of 82 apartments and a 15,000-square-foot commercial building leased to a child care facility and pre-school. The deal breaks down to about $110,000 per unit. Ocean King Apartments LLC is the seller. The company is led by Allen…

Apartment rental prices across US slow after years of steady growth: report

Tenants can rejoice. Landlords? Not so much. Apartment building owners across the country may be seeing the end of record rent growth, according to new nationwide data. Prices on multifamily rents ticked up just 2.3 percent in the second quarter year-over-year, the smallest increase since 2010, according to RealPage Inc. The findings were reported in the Wall Street Journal, and attributed in part to the…

Wynwood Leaders Say Zoning Was Key To Neighborhood’s Evolution

In just 10 years, Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood has transformed from a grungy industrial area to a trendy arts center and tourist draw, and is now maturing with its first major office and residential components. That is because property owners and developers banded together to develop key zoning changes, they said Wednesday during Bisnow’s Evolution of Wynwood event. Panelists noted that…

ASB pays $24M for 10.5-acre industrial property in Hialeah

ASB Real Estate Investments just paid $24.3 million for a warehouse in Hialeah that’s fully leased to the furniture manufacturer, Synergy Custom Fixtures. Terreno Realty Corporation, a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in San Francisco, sold the 302,000-square-foot warehouse at 215 Southeast 10th Avenue for about $81 per square foot. Synergy Custom Fixtures signed a long-term lease…

Beckham partner Jorge Mas teases plan for mega soccer complex in Miami

David Beckham’s partner Jorge Mas is presenting a plan for a major mixed-use soccer complex in the city of Miami, and is expected to go public with the proposal at a Miami City Commission meeting next month. Beckham and his partners officially announced the Major League Soccer team earlier this year, but the stadium plans – including the location – have been up in the air for years. Mas, a MasTec…

36th Street Rail Crossing To Be Eliminated As FDOT Plans To Reconfigure Intersection

Transportation planners are considering closure of the north-south railway crossing at Northeast 36 Street, city records show. (The east-west crossing may be staying open). Instead, a new crossing will be opened at Northeast 42 Street, in order to improve access to the Design District. Company policy of the Florida East Coast Railroad requires that two crossings be…

Now playing on Flagler: umpteenth Groundhog Day remake

Showing, now and seemingly forever, on downtown’s main thoroughfare is the Flagler Street version of the film Groundhog Day. Every few years Miami’s Downtown Development Authority cites tremendous progress on the remaking of Flagler Street in a wonderful new design that’s going to serve downtown better than ever before. We’ve been reporting that at least as far back as 1993. A quarter of a…

Prime Biscayne Property’s 13-story Edgewater hotel gains development review OK

A new hotel is planned for the Edgewater neighborhood of Miami. Prime Biscayne Property LLC has submitted plans to construct a 13-story mixed-use hotel at 3047 Biscayne Blvd., at the southeast corner of the intersection with Northeast 31st Street. The city’s Urban Development Review Board voted June 20 to recommend approval of the project with conditions. No official name was revealed, nor…
Pla…

City looks to design firm to craft true Virginia Key flex park

The City of Miami’s so-called flex park on Virginia Key is in line for a major redesign, with the ultimate goal of building a world-class waterfront destination with regional importance for a flexible public open space. A proposed contract with a design firm is on today’s (6/28) city commission agenda. Commissioners are to consider a resolution accepting a proposal from Civitas Inc. to…

Plans for Brickell’s dual-flag hotels underscore the impact of Underline

The Underline, a planned 10-mile linear park and urban trail, is barely off the drawing board but is already being touted as a neighboring asset for a major mixed-use project proposed in Brickell. C-F Brickell LLC plans to construct a dual-branded hotel with 264 rooms, about 25,000 square feet of retail stores, and a rooftop terrace and bar. The property is at 110 SW Seventh St., 721 SW First Court and 115 SW…

WeWork “cracked the code,” but has it hit a ceiling?: panel

At first, landlords didn’t want to lease to WeWork. Now, the company is in Class A office buildings across the globe. And in the future, it could end up partnering with landlords. “Partnering with WeWork is something we’ve thought about,” said Columbia Property Trust CEO Nelson Mills, explaining that it would be beyond simply leasing space to the co-working company. “Certainly, the industry has been…

Renderings revealed: Mr. C hotel, 100 Las Olas & Fairchild Coconut Grove

The Cipriani family just released new renderings of its Mr. C luxury hotel in Coconut Grove. Arquitectonica and the Martin Brudnizki Design Studio designed the 98-room hotel, which is under construction at 2988 McFarlane Road. It will feature nautical-themed interiors and a ballroom on the top floor with views of the Biscayne Bay. The hotel’s facade is propped up by stilts, inspired by…

The American Dream Miami: More Entertainment, Less Retail

The massive American Dream Miami project won final approval from the Miami-Dade commission last week – and it’s now looking like more of a theme park than a mall. The $4b project will now have a much larger entertainment component than originally planned, with the amount of retail space reduced, according to the WSJ. Originally, the proposal included 3.5 million square feet of retail, with 1.5…

Related Group and Rockpoint launch $2B multifamily division

The Related Group is making another push into multifamily real estate. Related and Rockpoint Group are launching a new division within Related focused on acquiring value-add multifamily properties in Florida and throughout the Sun Belt, the companies announced on Tuesday. Together, they plan to spend more than $2 billion over the next several years. Miami-based Related and Boston-based…

Too little too late: Internet sales tax ruling can’t stop brick-and-mortar retail apocalypse

Retail trade groups claimed a big victory for their brick-and-mortar store constituency when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can collect sales tax from internet retailers. Even President Trump notched it as a win. But retail experts question how much the change will really help or even affect traditional brick and mortar retailers, which have been losing out to e-commerce businesses for a host of…

South Florida Multifamily Transactions, Prices Rise in 1Q; 1Q 2018 Vizzda/MIAMI Realtors Commercial Report Released

South Florida multifamily real estate transactions jumped 8.5 percent year-over-year in 1Q 2018 and per-unit multifamily prices increased in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to the new 1Q 2018 The Quarterly Report – South Florida Commercial Real Estate released by data firm Vizzda (Visual Data) and the MIAMI Association of Realtors Commercial (MIAMI Commercial). “Increasing…”

Miami Mold Specialist in Expansion Mode, Acquires New Building in South Beach

Prominent indoor environmental services company, Miami Mold Specialist, recently announced the acquisition of prime commercial real estate in South Florida. This new commercial property will be used as Miami Mold Specialists new headquarters, with remodeling and renovations already getting underway. The new headquarters will allow for Miami Mold Specialists to efficiently and effectively expand…

Miami Beach food hall unveils tenants and opening date, other restaurant news

Terranova Corp. unveiled a roster of tenants to open at The Lincoln Eatery, a food hall planned for Lincoln Lane in Miami Beach. The 9,600-square-foot hall, at 723 North Lincoln Lane, is set to open in December, according to a spokesperson. Tenants include Necessary Purveyor, a sandwich shop with 136 square feet; Fresh Garden Bowls with 191 square feet; Chill’N nitrogen ice cream with 300 square feet…

ASB Real Estate Acquires Miami Industrial Facility

ASB Real Estate Investments has acquired a 10.5-acre industrial property in Miami’s submarket of Hialeah, for $24.3 million. The facility is 100 percent leased on a long-term basis to Synergy Custom Fixtures, a custom counters and fixtures manufacturer. Terreno Realty Corp. sold the asset on behalf of the Allegiance Real Estate Fund, its $6.9 billion core vehicle. This comes off the heels of its $20.3 million sale…

Video: Cory Sylvester of Union RealTime Provides Self-Storage Industry Forecast

Cory Sylvester, Principal with Union RealTime, which provides a data service called Advocate for the self-storage industry, appears on a commercial real estate talk show to discuss how the self-storage industry is performing and what investors in self-storage properties might expect as the market continues to evolve.

Tariff Increases and the Potential Economic Effects

Changes to U.S. trade policy have sparked questions about what the economic effects might be. A recent Economic Synopses looked at other countries that increased tariffs to see what might happen. Economist Fernando Leibovici and Senior Research Associate Jonas Crews identified 16 times over the period 1980-2006 when a country increased import tariffs by at least 3.5 percentage points in a year.

Proposed zoning rules in Coconut Grove would restrict the size of new single-family homes

A movement to curtail the infiltration of boxy, zero-lot line modern houses in Coconut Grove could lead to more stringent rules for single-family home development in the neighborhood. The Miami Planning and Zoning Board voted 8-1 last week to recommend approval of a rewrite of zoning overlays that govern what can be built in Coconut Grove. The proposed regulations will go before the Miami City…

UK billionaire Mike Ashley buys Walgreens property near 1 Hotel South Beach

Mike Ashley, the British billionaire founder and CEO of Sports Direct, just closed on a Walgreens-leased property on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. Ashley, who also owns Newcastle United Football Club, paid $8 million for 50 percent of the fee simple ownership of the land and 100 percent of the leasehold interest in the property at 2300 Collins Avenue, across the street from 1 Hotel & Homes South…

Doral church buys former building that was home for Univision’s “Escándalo TV”

A Doral church is giving new life to an office building previously home to Univision’s Telefutura operations. Iglesia Doral Jesus Worship Center paid $9.5 million for the nearly 80,000-square-foot building at 1900 Northwest 89th Place, more than two years after the property hit the market for $12.75 million. The church financed the deal with a $6.4 million mortgage from West Palm Beach-based Flagler Bank.

Grass River, Downstream Realty Partners buy Wilton Manors shopping center

Grass River Property and Downstream Realty Partners are expanding their portfolio in Wilton Manors. Property records show the partnership paid $21 million, or about $270 per square foot, for a 78,600-square-foot shopping center at 2200 and 2292 Wilton Drive, with plans to renovate the property. Grass River and Downstream Realty scored a $22.8 million loan from Two Harbors Investment…

MiamiCentral Office Buildings Listed for Sale

Florida East Coast Industries, a company with ties to railroad magnate Henry Flagler, is marketing for sale the first two buildings at the transit-oriented MiamiCentral development in downtown Miami. The listing includes 2 MiamiCentral at 700 NW MiamiCentral Avenue and 3 MiamiCentral at 161 NW 6th Street. The 5-Star buildings collectively consist of 285,000 square feet of offices and 35,000 square feet of….

Brightline may extend passenger train service to both Orlando and Tampa

Brightline, the company that plans to extend its passenger train service in South Florida to Orlando, may expand into Tampa, too.
Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday that state officials will consider proposals by private companies to launch a passenger train service along Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando. Brightline has submitted a bid to build a rail line in the I-4 corridor on land leased…

Condo association in Brickell tower says developer overcharged for shared facilities

A condominium association in Brickell is suing its shared services provider, Mast Capital, alleging the developer unexpectedly and excessively raised the amount the condo owners had to contribute. The Mayfield Condominium Association also claimed Mast Capital — which owns the hotel portion of the building — overcharged for some of these expenses, which include maintenance for some of the…

White House wants to shake up housing finance

The White House on Thursday unveiled a plan to release Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government control and turn them into private companies. Under the proposal, which still needs congressional approval, the two mortgage giants would lose their federal charters. Other private companies would be able to compete with them in the business of repackaging mortgages, stamping them with…

As redevelopment becomes all the rage in downtown Miami, nightclubs are turning into collateral damage

E11even is one of three clubs on Northeast 11th Street that have faced multiple noise complaints from neighbors. For more than 15 years, in the wee hours before sunrise on Sundays, the thumping bass emanating from the speakers inside the cavernous Club Space lured hundreds of electronic dance music aficionados onto Northeast 11th Street in downtown Miami. It’s a scene that real estate developers…

Apartment Construction Booming Across the Southern U.S.

The 816-unit Park Line Miami apartment towers at 250 NW 1st St. in Miami. The project is slated to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2019. Due to impressive in-migration as well as demographic growth and booming economies, southern metros have attracted an impressive share of apartment…

Joint venture buys 30-story office building

Miami’s commercial real estate market has been hot for several years now, but the risks are real. The recent sale of a large office building helps illustrate the potential upside and downside. The 30-story tower at 1111 Brickell Avenue recently sold to a joint venture involving real estate giants KKR and Parkway Property Investments for an undisclosed amount. When it last changed hands in 2013, it sold for…

The country’s largest shopping mall is coming to Miami

The mall isn’t dead—it’s simply become a theme park At a time when brick-and-mortar shopping centers across the country are struggling to stay afloat, the developers of American Dream Miami are moving forward with a plan to bring the nation’s largest and most expensive megamall to South Florida. Slated for a 174-acre site of mostly vacant farmland along the Florida Turnpike in Miami Lakes…

Miami-Dade county doubles down on cars with Kendall Parkway highway expansion

Transit advocates have sarcastically dubbed controversial proposal as “another sexy highway” On Wednesday Miami-Dade officials voted in favor of a hotly debated plan to build a new multilane highway through the Everglades to serve the county’s West Kendall community.
Commissioners approved the project by a 9-2 margin despite testimony from opponents claiming the $650 million undertaking would…

Hialeah construction company execs charged with defrauding affordable housing fund

The president and vice president of a Hialeah-based construction company face federal charges for allegedly defrauding Miami-Dade County’s low-income housing fund. Javier Estepa and Diego Alejandro Estepa Vazquez of Aaron Construction Company, were charged in a four-count indictment on Thursday over their alleged involvement in a scheme to gain contracts with Miami-Dade Public Housing…

Miami board approves two mixed-use hotel projects in Edgewater and Brickell

With a few minor modifications, a pair of mixed-use hotel proposals in Edgewater and Brickell received a seal of approval from Miami’s Urban Development Review Board. Both projects went before the board on Thursday to request design waivers. The board first heard from Miguel Diaz de la Portilla and Kobi Karp, the attorney and architect, respectfully, for Prime Biscayne Property LLC, which submitted…

Miami Beach Convention Center hotel by group led by Jackie Soffer and David Martin would cost at least $348M to build

The development group led by Jackie Soffer and David Martin would build a compact, sleek convention center hotel in Miami Beach that incorporates environmentally conscious design elements aimed to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The price tag would be between $348 million to $362 million with 65 percent financed with construction loans and the remainder through equity from the…

Miami board approves design for second phase of apartments at Liberty Square redevelopment

The reimagining of Miami-Dade’s oldest public housing apartment complex will feature six new three-story buildings with 204 apartments, a hidden parking lot and a small park and playground. Miami’s Urban Development Review Board on Wednesday approved the second residential phase of Liberty Square Rising, an ambitious redevelopment project by Related Urban, the Related Group’s…

Elysee condo tower goes vertical after massive concrete pour

Crews delivered 5,000 tons of the building material in just 20 hours After breaking ground in December, Miami’s striking Elysee condo tower has begun its 57-story vertical climb along the Bay of Biscayne. The start of above-ground construction comes after crews completed a nearly twice-around-the-clock, 20-hour concrete pour to create the future skyscraper’s base. No fewer than 260 truckloads…

Spider lists Edgewater site for $7M after axing condo project

Spider Investments just listed the site of Spark, a canceled condo project in Edgewater, for $7 million. The developer, led by Andres Goldenberg and Alejandro Eskenazi, is one of a handful in South Florida to list the sites of their now-defunct projects, including the former Flagler 626 property in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village and the Boulevard 57 site in Miami. Spider launched sales for Spark, a 27…

East End Capital scores $30M financing for Wynwood Arcade, nearby warehouses

More retailers and restaurants are coming to Wynwood. East End Capital just scored $30 million in financing for the build-out of tenant spaces at its Wynwood Arcade development, as well as for some surrounding warehouses that the developer assembled between 2014 and 2016. The warehouses along Northwest 24th and 25th streets recently signed on taco and tequila restaurant Bartaco and the…

Miami Office Tower Fetches Area’s Second-Highest Sales Price Since 2012

The recent sale of Sabadell Financial Center in downtown Miami for $248.5 million ($475 per square foot) cements the transaction as the second-highest price paid for a South Florida office property in the last six years, CoStar data shows. Global investment firm KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co LP) and Orlando-based office landlord Parkway Property Investments LLC bought the 30-story tower at…

Good News: Disclosure of Cash Buyers for Lux Real Estate Effective in Curtailing Money Laundering; Bad News: Homes Sales Cut by 70%

The Department of Treasury’s crackdown on potential money laundering involving all-cash buyers of real estate that began in 2016 deflated the value of luxury homes sold in the nation’s largest markets by more than 4 percent. It also reduced the number of all-cash sales by 70%, according to a new authoritative analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the University of Miami.

Parkway Properties, KKR pay $250M for former Sabadell Financial Center: sources

A partnership between Parkway Properties and investment giant KKR just paid $250 million for the former Sabadell Financial Center in Miami, sources told The Real Deal. The seller was Prudential Real Estate Investors, which bought the property in 2013 for $184.3 million, property records show. The deal marks one of the priciest office-building trades in Greater Downtown Miami since the Southeast…

KKR, Parkway Acquire 30-Story Sabadell Financial Center in Miami’s Brickell District for $250M

KKR and Parkway Property Investments LLC have acquired Sabadell Financial Center, a 30-story office tower located at 1111 Brickell Avenue in Miami’s Brickell submarket. PGIM Real Estate Investors sold the asset for $250 million after acquiring the building in 2013 for $184.3 million, according to The Real Deal. Square Mile Capital Management LLC originated acquisition financing on behalf of the new…

KKR, Parkway Properties Buy 522 KSF Miami Office Tower

The 522,000-square-foot office tower at 1111 Brickell Ave. in Miami’s vibrant Brickell submarket has changed hands. In a joint venture, affiliates of KKR and Parkway Property Investments purchased the Class A building from PGIM Real Estate. Also known as Sabadell Financial Center, 1111 Brickell made its debut in the city’s central business district in 2000 as part of a mixed-use development that…

KKR, Parkway Venture Acquires Miami Office Tower

A joint venture of KKR and Parkway Property Investments has acquired the 30-story office tower at 1111 Brickell. The joint venture purchased the 522,000-square-foot office building from New Jersey-based PGIM Real Estate. No purchase price was disclosed. Square Mile Capital Management LLC of New York City originated the financing for the deal. PGIM acquired the property, which was built in…

Half of Biltmore’s rent to restore historic hotel

The Coral Gables City Commission voted unanimously last week to allow the Biltmore Hotel Limited Partnership to redirect 50% of annual rent payments to the city to the building’s historic preservation, paying up to half of the historic monument’s improvement costs. The city attorney and the city manager are to meet with Biltmore officials to draft the five-year agreement. City staff and the historic preservation…

New Flagler ‘Festival Street’ design adds $10 million to cost

Prospects for the Flagler Street renovation – which has dragged on several years – are suddenly brighter, as leaders of Miami-Dade County, Miami, and the Downtown Development Authority pledged to pump more money into the project. In February, the downtown authority, which has steered the project since its inception, agreed to consider suggestions by Moishe Mana, an investor who has…

Wells Fargo Grants $103M Financing for Miami Transit Oriented Development

Florida East Coast Industries has received $103 million in financing from Wells Fargo for MiamiCentral, a new transit-oriented development in Miami that will be the first of its kind in the area. The development consists of 2 MiamiCentral, a 10-story, 190,000-square-foot Class A tower which is scheduled for completion this month; and 3 MiamiCentral, a 130,000-square-foot mixed-use building…

Video: Reis Economist Predicts Self Storage CAP Rates to Rise 1.25% in Next 12 Months

Barbara Denham, Economist with REIS, a firm that provides structured and quality assured commercial real estate data including 30 years of commercial real estate market research and economic analyses. discusses how a 1.25% increase in CAP rates (capitalization ratio) could impact the self-storage property market, what is means for valuation and overall property performance. The conversation, basically a…

One pact on plan to narrow Biscayne Boulevard, but studies still due

The city’s Off-Street Parking Board has approved a new more detailed agreement between the Miami Parking Authority and the Downtown Development Authority for the Biscayne Green Project. But the plan to transform Biscayne Boulevard into something other than a busy downtown street hugging vast surface parking lots may still be a couple of studies down the road. At the direction of…

5-point solution targets Brickell Bridge Gridlock

The Coast Guard says it’s willing to test an altered schedule for opening the Brickell Avenue Bridge if others deliver on four key changes to the clogged roadway crossing the Miami River. On May 29, James Wolfe of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) wrote to the Coast Guard requesting changes to scheduled bridge openings. They include trimming the morning operating curfew by 30 minutes…

Clock ticks to replace Miami-Dade civil courthouse

Miami-Dade has a timeline to build a civil courthouse to replace the crumbling one on Flagler Street, with work to start in July 2020, according to a memo from Mayor Carlos Giménez. Commissioners this month voted to cancel a public-private partnership solicitation for the tower, seek a new hybrid partnership and provide a timeline for their consideration June 19. Commissioners on Tuesday accepted…

Gubernatorial candidate Philip Levine discloses real estate assets worth $109 million

Florida gubernatorial candidate Philip Levine is worth a cool $133 million. In an effort to open a blind trust for his assets, the former Miami Beach mayor, on Monday, issued a financial disclosure revealing all of his holdings and net worth. The filings show Levine’s real estate assets total more than $109 million, according to the Miami Herald. The portfolio is made up of properties throughout Miami, Miami…

Miami-Dade County’s Office Market Fueled by Solid Local Economic Fundamentals

Driven by population and job growth, Miami-Dade County is one of the strongest and most sought-after commercial real estate markets in the Southeast. As of February 2018, the county’s unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent, which, while only a 10-basis point decline from the rate in February 2017, represents continued positive movement. The metro’s economic stability and growing employment…

Marsha Soffer sues Ritz-Carlton, Miami Beach developer over delays

A member of the Soffer family is suing the development group behind The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach over the condominium project’s construction delays, and is looking to get her deposit back. It’s the fourth lawsuit filed by buyers in the last four months, all seeking a refund of deposits due to delays. Marsha Soffer, the daughter of billionaire Turnberry Associates developer Donald Soffer…

Grand Peaks pays $66 million for apartment complex near FIU

Grand Peaks Properties paid $65.6 million for an apartment complex near Florida International University in Sweetwater, property records show. Real estate investors Manuel and Jorge Larrieu and Nitza Gonzalez sold Sundance Village, a 304-unit property at 11325 Northwest Seventh Street, for about $216,000 per apartment. They paid $7.2 million for the complex in 1997, and hired Larry Stockton of…

Celebrity Chef Samuelsson To Open A Restaurant In Overtown

Miami is trying to rebuild a neighborhood that was once a vibrant center for black culture, and a celebrity chef is contributing what he does best: food. Marcus Samuelsson has bought a former pool hall in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood and plans to open a restaurant there later this year. A redevelopment board is already pouring tens of millions of dollars into Overtown, but Samuelsson is the first…

Miami Industrial Market’s Future Hinges On Infill And Demand For Single-User Properties

After several years of strong absorption in leasing and robust sales volume, there’s no question that Miami’s industrial real estate market is the desired location for national tenants and institutional investors alike. But many insiders are questioning if sustaining that level of growth is possible and if there are still profitable transactions to be found. The answer is a resounding yes. There is little indication that…

$22.8M Sale Negotiated for Leasehold Interest in Industrial Property Near Miami Airport

HFF has arranged the $22.8 million sale of the leasehold interest in a two-building, 211,852-square-foot industrial property located roughly one mile from Miami International Airport. Manuel de Zárraga, Tracey Goo and Luis Castillo of HFF arranged the transaction on behalf of the seller, iStar Inc., and procured the buyer, the Dayan family from Brazil. Safety, Income & Growth Inc., managed by iStar…

Boutique ‘Mr. C’ hotel headed to Coconut Grove

The brand has existing locations in Los Angeles and New York A previously unnamed, five-story hotel under construction in Coconut Grove will be operated by the Cipriani family’s boutique Mr. C brand. Under construction since last year, the project is being developed by the Fort family and Arquitectonica founding principal Bernardo Fort-Brescia. It is located on a narrow lot next to the group’s renovation…

Plan to build Cuban museum on waterfront site behind AmericanAirlines Arena scrubbed

A proposal to build a Cuban Exile History Museum on the waterfront site behind the AmericanAirlines Area has been abandoned.
In its place, property could become what it was originally intended for more than 20 years ago: a waterfront park. The Miami-Dade County Commission was slated to vote this week to lease the land and build a privately funded Cuban museum, but the proposal was pulled…

Climate change already hitting home prices

The risk of climate change appears to be having an impact on housing prices. Average home prices in areas that face low risks of flooding, hurricanes and wildfires outpaced areas that had a greater risk of climate change between 2007 and 2017, according to figures from Attom Data Solutions reported by Bloomberg. Average home prices in areas at high risk were worth less last year than they were a…

Commercial Office Lease Negotiation – A Pro-Tenant Checklist

This Article provides you with tips to create a concise and effective negotiation checklist and the key points you should consider when negotiating a lease in a multi-tenant office building. This Article also highlights key provisions you should pay close attention to often found in office leases. At initial glance, a 20, 30 and sometimes 40 page commercial office lease agreement may seem daunting.

Trump administration may expose more wetlands to real estate development

The Trump administration is preparing to limit the definition of federally protected waterways in the Clean Water Act, an action that could expose many wetlands to real estate development. Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has completed a proposal to implement President Trump’s executive order limiting the definition of federally protected waterways. Trump…

Report: Flawed load-bearing design likely contributed to FIU bridge collapse

A newly installed FIU pedestrian bridge collapsed March 15, killing six people. The unusual pedestrian bridge at Florida International University had an undetected design flaw that probably contributed to its collapse in March, the Miami Herald reported, citing a review by three independent structural engineers. At the newspaper’s request, the engineers reviewed nearly 2,000 pages of mathematical…

Group led by Jackie Soffer, David Martin is sole bidder for Miami Beach Convention Center hotel

A group led by developers Jackie Soffer of Turnberry Associates and David Martin of Terra is the sole bidder to submit a proposal for a Miami Beach Convention Center hotel. Miami Beach Connect, which includes Bernardo Fort-Brescia’s Arquitectonica, Craig Robins’ Dacra, Meyer-Davis and Coastal Tishman, will go before the city’s evaluation committee meeting next Thursday, a spokesperson for the team…

Why savvy investors are using Alaska to avoid property tax deduction caps

To get around a provision in the new tax law limiting federal deductions for state and local taxes to $10,000, investors in states like New York are turning to Alaska. Property owners have been establishing LLCs in no-tax states like Alaska or Delaware to get around the cap, according to Bloomberg. They then transfer parts of that LLC into several non-grantor trusts, which are treated as independent taxpayers…

Congress Passes New Banking Legislation to Reduce Regulatory Burden

Last month, President Donald Trump signed into law “The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act.” Billed as significant regulatory relief for banks by some—and not enough regulatory relief by others—the new law calibrates a massive piece of banking legislation enacted after the 2007-08 financial crisis. That law is the Dodd-Frank Act (the Act). The Reason for Dodd-Frank…

Fireman Derek’s Pie Shop Opening in Coconut Grove

I was at Fireman Derek’s Pie Shop the other day in Wynwood. The reason I bring them up is that they are coming to the Grove. Now this is something special, the pies are so rich, I don’t think you can eat them every day. On Thursday, we had a green mint chocolate chip cheesecake along with Mocha Latte’s, which were the best Mocha Latte’s that I’ve had in a long time. But back to the pie – you could…

Miami Riverside Center redevelopment plan gets a new look

The updated layout places new emphasis on public space and river access Miami-based Adler Group has released an updated version of its plan to transform a prime piece of downtown riverfront real estate into a mixed-use, multi-building development. Slated to replace the city-owned administrative building known as Miami Riverside Complex, the project at at 444 SW Second Avenue calls for three to four…

Rotem Rosen’s new firm to buy dev site in Miami’s A&E District for $30M

MRR Development, a new firm led by Rotem Rosen, Jerry Rotonda and billionaire Anand Mahindra, is in contract to pay $30 million for a development site in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District. The firm is buying the majority of the city block between 18th and 19th streets and Northeast Second Avenue and Northeast Second Court. With bonuses, the 1.42-acre site allows for a mixed-use project of up to 1.9…

Fed hikes interest rates again, raises outlook for more increases in 2018

The Federal Reserve announced it will raise interest rates a quarter percentage point on Wednesday, and signaled that it could raise interest rates at least twice more this year. Most Federal Reserve officials now expect at least four rate increases this year, up from a previous projection in March of three rate increases, according to the Wall Street Journal. Most officials also expect the Fed will have..

Miami board to vote on Finvarb and Cho’s mixed-use Brickell hotel, other projects

Miami’s Urban Development Review Board will review proposals for two new mixed-use hotels in Miami’s Edgewater and Brickell neighborhoods and the second phase of Liberty Square, an affordable housing development, at its upcoming meeting on June 20. Mixed-use hotel at 3047 Biscayne Boulevard in Edgewater. Kobi Karp Architecture & Design submitted plans for 3047 Biscayne Boulevard…