Affordable housing developer buys piece of Little Havana assemblage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Miami Market Update: An Emerging Hotspot for Office Transactions

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

Boutique Offices Make a Comeback in Miami

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

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

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

Latigo Group to Open Pomelo Apartments in Miami Gardens

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

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

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

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

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

Downtown Miami Revitalization Begins with Flagler Street Makeover

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

Video: How climate change puts real estate at risk

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

Sale Of Doral Industrial Land Site Negotiated

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

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

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

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

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

National chains paid 93% of rent in April

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

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

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

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

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

Doral seeks to take over business-rich county lands

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

Public-private Miami administration building deal nears

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

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

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

Miami Beach may sell six city properties

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

Melo Group affiliate plans twin Edgewater towers

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

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

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

Simon says suburbia is hot, raises guidance for 2021

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

New Uses for Vacant Retail Anchor Spaces

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

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

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

Video: Optimizing the office & the new workplace normal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry Leaders Discuss Construction Delivery Methods and Potential Pitfalls

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

Job recovery sputters, but hospitality & leisure add hiring

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

Rents rise across country as economy rebounds

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

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

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

The Astor Companies closes sale of Merrick Manor retail condominium

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

No room in the warehouse: Amazon fuels shortage

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

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

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

Banyan Street Capital buys Weston office complex for $52 million

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

Bell Partners buys Fort Lauderdale apartments for $100 million

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

3 Of 5 Top Office Transactions in Florida in Q1 were in Miami-Dade

Florida’s second-largest office deal was EQ Office’s purchase of Two and Three MiamiCentral, a 333,438-square-foot office portfolio in Miami. The Chicago-based REIT paid Shorenstein $230 million for the buildings, which previously traded for $159.4 million in 2019, one year after their completion. Shortly before deciding to purchase the assets, the new…

Judge strikes down federal eviction ban

A federal judge in the District of Columbia on Wednesday voided the nationwide moratorium on evictions. U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich wrote in an opinion that although the pandemic is a health crisis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lacks the legal authority to ban evictions. The order does not supersede statewide moratoriums…

RealOp Investments buys Waterford office complex for $110M

RealOp Investments paid $110.1 million for three office buildings at the Waterford Business District near Miami International Airport. The Greenville, South Carolina-based commercial real estate investor bought the Waterford Atrium complex at 6100, 6303 and 6505 Blue Lagoon Drive in two deals from different affiliates of MetLife, records show. RealOp…

East End Capital, Australian investors lose suit over $6M deposit in failed downtown Miami office tower sale

East End Capital and a pair of Australian investors were ordered to pay back a $5.5 million deposit tied to the failed $98.8 million sale of their office tower in downtown Miami. BentallGreenOak had put the funds in escrow last year as part of its planned purchase of the 30-story 100 Biscayne office building at 100 Biscayne Boulevard and garage at 130 Biscayne Boulevard…

Miami Market Update: Planned Inventory Increases

By the end of March, there were 4.1 million square feet of office space under construction within the greater Miami area, including Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The majority of projects are scheduled for delivery by year’s end. Construction within the office sector has somewhat slowed down in Miami, with 2.2 million square feet underway…

Kushner Companies violated multiple laws in massive tenant dispute, judge rules

It’s been six years since Dionne Mont first saw her apartment at Fontana Village, a rental housing complex just east of Baltimore. She was aghast that day to find the front door coming off its hinges, the kitchen cabinet doors stuck to their frames, mouse droppings under the kitchen sink, mold in the refrigerator, the toilet barely functioning and water stains on every…

Hialeah Trade Among Top 5 Industrial Transactions in Q1

The largest industrial deal in Florida through the end of March was CenterPoint Properties’ $184 million acquisition of 4040 and 4210 W 108th Street in Hialeah, just outside Miami. The two buildings delivered at the end of 2020, marking the market’s largest industrial completion of the year. The developer and seller, Florida East Coast Industries, financed the…

More urban areas lost population in 2020

Americans made some major moves in 2020, draining the population of key cities. Urban counties saw the greatest impact of pandemic-year migration, according to an analysis of census data by the New York Times. Urban populations had also fallen in 2019 after seeing growth slow since 2012, largely from a lack of housing, but last year accelerated that trend.

Sam Zell acquires industrial firm Monmouth Real Estate for $3.4B

As the industrial real estate sector booms, Sam Zell’s Equity Commonwealth is expanding into the field. The billionaire’s company, which focuses on office real estate, is acquiring the big industrial firm Monmouth Real Estate Investment in a $3.4 billion, all-stock deal, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. Based in Holmdel, New Jersey, Monmouth owns 120 properties…

Notable Retail Leases Signed in South Florida Q1 2021

South Florida Retail Leases 2021 – 2020 We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the top retail leases signed by square footage in South Florida during Q1 2021. This quarter was busy overall, especially considering the current pandemic, and saw several big box leases signed and sealed. Despite the sentiment that the traditional retail market is…

Rent relief hinges on dwindling goodwill

Sometime this month, New York landlords and tenants will gain access to $2.3 billion in federal aid allocated by the state. The catch: They’ll have to work together to get it. In a year that’s pushed the cat-dog dichotomy of the landlord-tenant relationship to extremes, cooperation could be elusive. The law allows either party to start an application for relief. But for money…

Investors team up with pastry chef and chocolatier for planned Wynwood market

Chef Jorge Kauam and 310 Northwest 25th Street A new high-end market with a restaurant, bean-to-bar chocolate station, patisserie and cocktail bar is coming to Wynwood. Ananda Market, led by partners Antonio Ortega and Piero Pini, signed a 10-year lease for nearly 12,500 square feet at 310 Northwest 25th Street, The Real Deal has learned. Forte Capital…

Renters prepare for eviction crisis as aid is held up

The U.S. may be past the worst of the pandemic, but it could be in for another major crisis. With a federal moratorium on evictions scheduled to end June 30, millions of people who owe back rent could lose their homes if federal aid does not arrive in time, according to Politico. Congress has allocated about $50 billion to help struggling tenants and landlords…

Easton scores $24M construction loan for Hialeah Gardens spec warehouse

The Easton Group’s Edward Easton and a rendering of the warehouse project The Easton Group scored a $24 million construction loan for a Hialeah Gardens spec warehouse, aiming for e-commerce, distribution or logistics tenants. Doral-based Easton Group, founded and led by Edward Easton, already is building the 266,000-square-foot industrial project…

The next big boom in North Miami

At long last, North Miami is ready for its close-up. Before leaving office in 2019, former Mayor Smith Joseph called it the “city on the move,” but he was just a tad early. The big action was happening solely at the 184-acre, $4 billion Solé Mia project, which runs pretty much as a self-contained principality within North Miami’s boundaries. It includes the eye…

Wynwood mixed-use project deferred amid concerns

A plan to build a 12-story mixed-use structure containing commercial space and affordable/workforce housing met with a chilly reception before the Wynwood Design Review Committee. The developer, through representatives, chose to voluntarily defer the project in order to address concerns and suggestions from committee members. Members…

City seeks yet another advisor on Miami Marine Stadium

More than four years have passed since the Miami City Commission made the restoration of Marine Stadium on Virginia Key a reality by approving bond funding for the project. Yet the project remains in limbo, costs have risen, and now city staff is hiring even more consultants to check the work that’s already been done by architects and scores of other consultants.

2021 Legislature Clarifies Use of Contract Deposits by Condominium Developers

Section 718.202 of the Florida Condominium Act sought to address the extent that condominium developers could apply contract deposits to pay costs involved in construction of a project. This Section of the Condominium Act allowed deposits in excess of 10% of the purchase price to be used, with appropriate language in the sales contracts for expenditures used in…

Fisher Brothers pays $18M for Wynwood assemblage owned by RedSky venture

RedSky Capital and JZ Capital Partners sold the former Miami Rescue Mission site for $17.6 million, as the joint venture continues to offload its Wynwood portfolio at a discount. New York-based Fisher Brothers purchased the buildings… RS JZ NW1 2200 sold the parcels at 2201, 2229 and 2159 Northwest First Court, and 2200 and 2250 Northwest First Avenue.

CoStar lures workers back to offices with cash prizes, Teslas

Three lucky CoStar employees and their guests will be heading to Barbados on a private plane, with all expenses paid by their employer. Who gets to take the fancy trip? Winners of a lottery that’s available only to workers who are vaccinated and physically present in their office, according to the Wall Street Journal. Office occupancy rates remain low as employees…

Don Peebles Maps Out Opportunities in Miami and Beyond

While developer Don Peebles calls Miami and New York home, he is all over the map. Literally. With a focus on large-scale projects developed by public/private partnerships, Peebles and his development firm, the Peebles Corporation, are seemingly everywhere. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Boston, in addition to his two home bases, are just…

Major plans: Major Food Group to open four more restaurants in Miami, Miami Beach

Major Food Group is serving up four new restaurants as part of its expansion in South Florida, The Real Deal has learned. The New York-based restaurant group, led by founders Mario Carbone, Rich Torrisi and Jeff Zalaznick, will open an Israeli concept in the South-of-Fifth neighborhood of Miami Beach and a French steakhouse in Brickell. It will also open…

Prologis plans to expand its Beacon Lakes business park in Miami-Dade

Prologis wants to expand its massive Beacon Lakes business park in northwest Miami-Dade County by building two logistics and distribution warehouses. The San Francisco-based real estate investment trust submitted a proposal to Miami-Dade County for two 164,435-square-foot facilities on the southeast corner of North…

Miami Design District refi loan wrapped into BofA’s latest conduit

Four investment-grade quality loans – including one refinancing the tony Miami Design District luxury retail development – highlight a new $1 billion commercial mortgage securitization being placed by Bank of America. BANK 2021-BNK33, the third CMBS offering on the conduit trust shelf of BofA Merrill Lynch Commercial Mortgage Inc., includes 68…

Biden’s proposal to cut 1031 exchanges may be “tremendous blow” to real estate: experts

Last spring, Newmark broker Ken Zakin was hustling to find a buyer for a client’s retail property in Queens. The tenants had stopped paying rent because of the pandemic, leading to a major loss in income for the landlords, a family that owned the building for four decades. Zakin planned to take advantage of the 1031 exchange program, which allows real…

Russell Galbut wants to turn South Beach hotel and adjacent building into offices and restaurants

Russell Galbut is looking to revive the shuttered Bancroft Hotel and an attached commercial building in South Beach as offices and restaurant space. According to plans submitted to the Miami Beach Planning Board, Bancroft Ocean Five Holdings, LLC, a company managed by Galbut, wants to convert the Bancroft’s rooms into executive office suites and offer…

South Florida by the numbers: Formula One revs up Miami real estate

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics. Miami…start your engines! The region’s hopes for post-pandemic momentum was super-fueled by Formula One’s recent commitment to hold annual races at Hard Rock Stadium, beginning in the second quarter of 2022. This will…

Guess it didn’t work out: Guess loses suit seeking rent break at Lincoln Road store in Miami Beach

After Guess stopped paying rent unilaterally at all its stores last year, the clothing and accessories brand’s landlord on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road sued — and won. The Denison Corporation, a Miami Beach-based family business led by Robert Quittner, sued in May for $291,162 in rent and other expenses owed over three months. Guess made good on what it owed…

Harbor buys nearly 5,500-unit portfolio from Chetrit for $390M

In one of the largest multifamily transactions of the year, the Chetrit Group sold a nearly 5,500-unit multifamily portfolio to Harbor Group International for $390 million, The Real Deal has learned. The apartments are in 56 communities across Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Harbor Group International, which is led by Jordan…

Video: Avra Jain discusses Miami development, “getting off the Beach”

Developer Avra Jain is “not afraid to go west.” The Vagabond Group founder spoke with The Real Deal’s Amir Korangy on the latest episode of Coffee Talk, sharing insights about what it means to be a developer and what’s next for Miami’s hottest neighborhoods. An early investor in now-trendy Wynwood, Jain is out amidst a zoning overhaul in the area. “When they…”

Miami Beach to prohibit hotels in Sunset Harbour? Zoning overhaul could derail Ronny Finvarb’s project

New proposed zoning regulations for Miami Beach’s Sunset Harbour neighborhood would encourage office development, but shun future hotels, putting a new project by Ronny Finvarb in a perilous position. The Miami Beach Planning Board on Tuesday recommended the city commission approve the new overlay district for Sunset Harbour, along with an…

Melo Group scores $99M refi for apartment tower north of downtown Miami

Melo Group secured a $99 million refinancing for its recently completed Miami Plaza apartment tower, after reaching 95 percent occupancy. Freddie Mac is the lender and Berkadia’s Miami office is the seller servicer for the 10-year, interest-only loan, according to a press release from Aztec Group. Peter Mekras, president of Miami-based Aztec, represented Melo in…

Distress investing is dead. Long live distress investing

Churchill Real Estate’s Justin Ehrlich and Oaktree Capital’s Howard Marks When Howard Marks’ Oaktree Capital set out to raise billions of dollars targeting troubled debt last spring, loan defaults seemed inevitable. Companies were teetering, people were hunkered inside and travel had come to a halt. “The firewood had been stacked,” Oaktree wrote in…

What Biden’s first 100 days meant for real estate

President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday unveiled a $1.8 trillion spending plan that would eliminate a “special real estate tax break” for certain investors. The partial demise of that tax break, mentioned briefly as part of the American Families Plan, is just one of several policy initiatives affecting real estate that have started to take shape under Biden, some…

R.O.I. Capital buys Oakland Park multifamily complex for $59M

R.O.I. Capital founders Noam Avrahami, Shay Atiya, Shay Milch and Northland Investment founder Lawrence Gottesdiener R.O.I. Capital Group made its first venture into the South Florida multifamily market, buying a 296-unit Oakland Park complex for $58.5 million. Israel-based real estate investor R.O.I. Capital bought Green Tree Apartments at 5201 North Dixie…

Safe Harbor pays $340 million for Fort Lauderdale mega-marina

Safe Harbor Marinas paid $340 million for a superyacht storage and repair facility in Fort Lauderdale. Dallas-based Safe Harbor Marinas, led by Baxter Underwood, bought the Lauderdale Marine Center at 2029 Southwest 20th Street from The Carlyle Group, records show. The property spans 60 acres along the New River’s South Fork. Lauderdale Marine Center was founded…

Midtown Capital Partners buys Plantation office building for $78M

Midtown Capital Partners bought a newly built office building at the Plantation Pointe business park for $78 million. Miami-based Midtown Capital bought the four-story property at 1700 North University Drive in Plantation and the adjacent 900-space garage from Northbrook, Illinois-based Torburn Partners, according to a deed. Midtown Capital took…

Universal Technical Institute Picks Miramar for Latest Campus

Phoenix-based University Technical Institute Inc. has leased an approximately 100,000-square-foot facility in Miramar, Fla., in southern Broward County, for its newest campus. The new space will be UTI’s 14th campus nationwide and second in Florida and is expected to open in late 2022, subject in part to completing the campus buildout. The provider…

MG3 Group sells Florida charter school portfolio including Everglades Prep in Homestead for $242M

An Aventura-based charter school developer sold two South Florida campuses for $78.1 million, as part of a $242 million portfolio deal for eight schools throughout the state. MG3 Group, led by Marcelo Saiegh, Hernan Leonoff and Gustavo Bogomolni, sold the schools to nonprofit Educational Growth Fund, according to a press release. Fort Lauderdale…

Florida CRE Gets Long-Sought Tax Break On Commercial Leases

Florida is trading one state tax for another as Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill implementing a 6% sales tax on products purchased from out-of-state, online-only retailers and reducing a tax rate on commercial leases from 5.5% to 2%, saving affected businesses about $1B. As the only state in the country that charges a tax on commercial leases, Florida’s Business…

Sentinel Real Estate Purchases Miami Beach Multifamily Portfolio for $96.6M

Sentinel Real Estate Corp. has purchased a 452-unit multifamily portfolio in Miami Beach for $96.6 million. The portfolio includes a total of 30 individual properties, 25 of which are located in the heart of South Beach, with the other five located in the submarket of Bay Harbor in north Miami Beach. Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Boardwalk…

OKO Group, Cain International Secure $128M Loan for Miami Tower

OKO Group and Cain International have received a $128.3 million construction loan from Bank OZK for the ongoing development of Una Residences, a 47-story luxury waterfront condominium tower in Miami’s South Brickell neighborhood. The developers broke ground on the high-rise in May 2020 and expect to complete the project in 2023. Terms of the…

CSteven A. Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management Inks Lease at Nuveen’s Brickell Tower

Point72 Asset Management, a hedge fund founded by billionaire Steven A. Cohen, is moving into 9,000 square feet of space at Nuveen Real Estate’s 701 Brickell in Miami. The firm will occupy part of the 33-story, 685,835-square-foot Class A tower, which is currently undergoing renovations. The deal comes on the heels of a lease that Point72 signed in January, where…

Software Focused Private Equity Firm Thoma Bravo Signs 36,500 SF Office Lease at 830 Brickell

Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm focused on the software sector, has signed a long-term lease at 830 Brickell, a 55-story, Class A office building in Miami’s Brickell district. The founder of Thoma Bravo, Orlando Bravo, relocated to Miami late last year, and partner Chip Virnig and other existing members of the Thoma Bravo team have already moved to the Miami…

Thoma Bravo Inks Lease at Future Miami Skyscraper

Thoma Bravo of Chicago has leased space in Miami’s biggest upcoming office project, as a wave of interest from financial and tech companies offers hope for the city’s struggling office market. The private equity firm has signed up for roughly 36,500 square feet on two floors at 830 Brickell, a 55-story skyscraper under development in the Brickell financial district.

Microsoft, Apple, ViacomCBS Hunt for Miami Office Space Heat Up

A trio of big name tenants — Microsoft, Apple and ViacomCBS — are making progress in their individual searches for Miami office space, with one of them getting into the finer details on a sizable lease, Commercial Observer has learned. Software giant Microsoft is still in active lease negotiations at OKO Group and Cain International’s 830 Brickell, and…

‘Perfect Storm’ Of Construction Cost Spikes Wreaking Havoc On Contractors, Developers

The cost of construction materials — things like lumber, steel, wood paneling, flooring and joint compound — has collectively risen close to 13% over the last year, the largest annual spike since 2008. The ripple effects for the real estate industry from such a sudden cost increase are vast: Projects are getting delayed and development timelines are lengthening…

Lawsuits, interrupted: Judges nix business pandemic insurance claims

GreenStreet Cafe’s lunchtime rush had just ended on a recent afternoon, but the clamor of dishes in the kitchen hadn’t ceased. Business has finally picked up at the popular eatery in Miami’s Coconut Grove, known for its red velvet outdoor couches, a place where athletes and artists have dined over the past 30 years. Still, owner Sylvano Bignon is heated. A judge in…

Miami Beach board backs Bulgari hotel plans to redevelop Seagull with height increase and ground-floor expansion

Bulgari’s plan to redevelop the Seagull Hotel Miami Beach is advancing, with aims to include adding two floors to the seven-story building, as well as expanding the ground floor. The Miami Beach Planning Board on Tuesday voted to recommend the city commission approve amendments to land use regulations that will allow the height increase and the…

Boston Properties to launch $2B joint venture for bet on office market

Boston Properties is making a $2 billion bet on the office market. Executives at the real estate investment trust announced during its first quarter earnings call that it will team up with two sovereign wealth funds to invest in office real estate. The investors, which the REIT said it would identify once the joint venture paperwork was finalized, will put in about…

Deutsche Bank eyes hybrid model while JPMorgan plans office return

More bad news for commercial landlords: Deutsche Bank is considering return-to-office plans that would make it one of the most flexible employers among large international banks. Under the proposal, employees would be able to work from home up to three days a week, Bloomberg News reported. The bank is also “moving to provide our employees some…”

Higher profits brewing for prolific retail tenant Starbucks

As Starbucks attempts to reel customers away from their home-brewing habits, the company says it expects higher profits this year. It’s a welcome sign for owners of retail space. As sales plummeted last year, Starbucks shuttered 400 stores across the country. But now the coffeehouse chain’s business is growing again. The company said Tuesday that global…

Ubiica, Maven plan multifamily project in Coral Gables

A new luxury multifamily project could be on tap for Coral Gables, which already is experiencing major redevelopment. Ubiica and Maven Real Estate completed their development site assemblage for the planned apartments. They bought the office building at 152 Almeria Avenue for $4.1 million, according to a press release. In 2019, the duo bought two lots at…

Bill targets discrimination in home and commercial appraisals

A new congressional bill seeks to root out racial discrimination in the residential and commercial real estate appraisal industry. The measure, sponsored by Reps. Emanuel Cleaver II and Ritchie Torres, would create an interagency task force to study factors that lead to disparities in property valuations and lay out specific steps to combat them. The task force…

Restaurants can apply for $29B in relief starting May 3

Help for restaurants promised by the federal $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package is coming to fruition. On May 3, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund will begin accepting applications for $29 billion in grants, according to the Wall Street Journal. The money is only available to restaurants, bars and other food-service businesses. Restaurants have been some of the…

North Beach development site hits the market for $18M

A development site in North Beach hit the market for $17.5 million. The Gaeta family owns the 1-acre assemblage at 7410 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. It includes a two-story building that is leased to CVS. The property is separated by a public alley. “Very rarely do you see an acre of land come to market on Miami Beach,” said listing agent Skyler Marinoff of Dwntwn…

Miami investor DiGasbarro completes Allapattah assemblage with $5M warehouse purchase

Roland DiGasbarro completed his assemblage in the produce district of Miami’s Allapattah, buying a warehouse for $5 million. DiGasbarro bought the building at 1221 Northwest 22nd Street, rounding off his industrial properties between Northwest 13th and 12th avenues along 22nd Street, according to Carlos Fausto Miranda of Fausto Commercial, who brokered…

With Gaming Poised To Expand In Florida, Top Developers Are On Opposite Sides Of The Issue

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 23 signed a compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. It would expand gaming in the state, guarantee the state $2.5B in revenue sharing in the next five years and $6B through 2030, and give the tribe the exclusive right to operate sports betting in the state through 2030. Critics have vowed to stop the plan, alleging it is…

Malls are back, say mall landlords

After a devastating year for malls, landlords say shoppers are heading back in droves. In March, foot traffic was up 86 percent at 50 shopping centers tracked by the data firm Placer.ai compared to the same month last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. But that was still 24 percent lower than it was in March 2019. Mall owners say sales are also improving as…

Coral Gables central business district healthy, adding on

Though last year was a tough one for the restaurant, retail and entertainment industries, occupancy is high in Downtown Coral Gables and the city, along with organizations like the Business Improvement District of Coral Gables, are focused on activation and 21st century marketing strategies. “We have seen our retailers and restaurants pivot…

Multi-use Wynwood project with hotel wins design OK

A plan to construct a building 12 stories high in Wynwood, bringing residential units, hotel rooms and an internal courtyard with commercial-retail uses, gained a positive vote from the Wynwood Design Review Committee…  Developer Wynwood Gateway II LLC proposes to build The Collective Wynwood at 2825 NW Second Ave., providing 143 multi-family…

Miami International Airport gives 63 tenants another break

A year-old program forgiving rent and other payments by shops, restaurants, luggage wrappers and car rental companies at Miami International Airport (MIA) will continue past mid-2021 as business remains far below pre-pandemic levels. Miami-Dade commissioners last week extended the program for a fourth time for 63 MIA tenants, one…

Long-awaited downtown Flagler Street revamp days from starting

After many starts and stops and years of inaction and delay, the City of Miami is days away from mobilizing its latest plan for improving Flagler Street downtown. “We are mobilizing the first week of May. The first section is expected to take nine months and the entire project is about 30 months long,” Hector L. Badia, with the City of Miami’s Office of Capital…

Miami Beach Convention Center lineup grows

The Miami Beach Convention Center is arising from pandemic shutdowns with 20 events and counting lined up for the rest of 2021, including the annual meeting of The Aesthetic Society (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery), which kicks off Friday. Last summer the center’s nearly 500,000 square feet of exhibit space was a state-sponsored covid…

Interest, Not Deals, Fuel Miami’s Office Market

Headlines portray Miami’s office market as a pandemic boomtown. While cities like San Francisco and New York suffer, Florida’s Magic City is wielding low taxes and a pro-business mayor to attract high-profile signings, including private-equity behemoth Blackstone, sandwich franchise Subway, and venture capital heavyweights Founders Fund…

Coral Gables may extend outdoor dining breaks into 2022

Under Coral Gables’ incoming mayor Vince Lago’s administration, restaurants will be able to use outdoor vacant lots and parking lots beyond the June 15 extended expiration date. Coming in May, Mr. Lago said, he’s presenting three ordinances that would expand on the outdoor dining experience through January 2022.  “It’s been very successful allowing…

WATCH: How the eviction ban is affecting landlords, renters

New York’s eviction moratorium has saved some from ruin, but threatens to cause it for others. The moratorium, which has stretched on for 13 months, isn’t the only of its kind: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced its own national eviction moratorium last September which, like New York’s, has been repeatedly extended. And the state…

The Fed: Did the Pandemic Spur Urban Flight? A Look at the Eighth District

Recent research by economist Stephan Whitaker at the Cleveland Fed found little evidence of an “urban exodus” during the pandemic. Populations of urban neighborhoods declined across the U.S. in 2020. However, this decline was primarily due to a drop in the flow of people moving into urban areas—not a mass urban exodus. Whitaker found evidence of…

Seller of industrial property near MIA to Blackstone sues ex-partners for $5M

Blackstone’s $56 million purchase of an industrial property near Miami International Airport closed nearly two years ago, but the legal fight among the sellers is still brewing. Samuel Friedman alleges that he was shortchanged more than $5.1 million by the other three sellers of Airport Trade Center – Haim Yehezkel, Roy Mussaffi and Joseph Cohen. The…

Earnings up, stores down: Why successful retailers close locations

By the look of things, Best Buy had a great winter. Domestic revenue surged 11 percent in November, December and January to $15.4 billion. But in announcing the good news, the electronics retailer said it would lay off 5,000 full-time workers and ramp up store closings. In the crosshairs are 450 locations with leases expiring in the next three years. “There will be…”

The Innovators: Codina Partners

By 1979, Armando Codina had already pioneered the field of data processing for doctors’ offices when he founded Codina Group, which he grew into Florida’s largest privately held commercial real estate company. He later merged it with another to eventually be sold off to Fortress Investment Group. In 2009, he teamed up with his daughter…

American Landmark CEO Joe Lubeck Provides Updates On Florida Strategy, $2B Shopping Spree

When Bisnow checked in with American Landmark CEO Joe Lubeck last March, the coronavirus pandemic had just broken out and the stock market crashed 26%, but he was still calmly intent on deploying $2B in capital to buy up apartment complexes. “We had hoped to acquire a billion last year,” Lubeck said. “We ended up with about $700M. So we didn’t quite hit our…

Expanding his empire: David Grutman to take over The Forge in Miami Beach

In a deal that marks the end of a dynasty’s control, hospitality mogul David Grutman plans to take over The Forge in Miami Beach, The Real Deal has learned. Alvin Malnik opened The Forge in the 1950s, and the glitzy restaurant was known as a hangout for celebrities like the late Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor. The restaurant at 432 West 41st Street…

Rent hikes are back

Stimulus payments, the vaccine rollout, low inventory of homes for sale and the recovering economy likely contributed to landlords accelerating the pace of rent increases last month. (iStock) The pandemic did not stop rents from increasing, but it steadily slowed that increase to almost nothing. However, the trend ended last month, according to a new report. In…

Telecommunications and power delivery contractor Concurrent Group leases in Opa-Locka & more leasing news

Concurrent Group LLC, a telecommunications and power delivery contractor, leased 8.4 acres in the Gratigny Industrial Park at 3705 Northwest 123rd Street in Opa-locka. The yard can fit nearly 200 trailers. Edward Easton of The Easton Group represented Concurrent Group. Brian Smith at JLL and Bob Comunale of Industrial Group…

For Data Centers, Opportunity Lies In Florida

The number of people who move into Florida each year is about equal to the population of Orlando, said Landmark Dividend Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer John Regan, speaking on a Bisnow webinar about South Florida data centers on April 22. Most of those roughly 500,000 new residents use computers and smartphones. “If every one of them…”

Dev site with retail-office building in Wynwood Norte hits market for $25M

A development site with a fully leased retail-office building in Miami’s newly anointed Wynwood Norte district hit the market for $24.5 million. An investment partnership led by Cymbal Development is selling the 1.4 acres at 3452 and 3466 North Miami Avenue, 20 and 34 Northwest 35th Street, and 28 and 29 Northwest 34th Terrace, according to a release. Property…

Commissioners give green light to 36-story tower in the Miami Design District

Despite protests from a competing developer, Dacra and its partners are a step closer to finalizing zoning changes that would allow them to build a 36-story tower in the Miami Design District. The Miami City Commission voted 5-0 on Thursday to preliminarily approve a slate of changes in the Miami Design District special area plan, or SAP. They include increasing the…

Building owners crucial to Biden’s climate goals

If President Joe Biden is to slash the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, he will need a lot of help from residential and commercial buildings owners. The president announced the goal, which is based on 2005 emission rates, Thursday during a global climate summit. The new target greatly accelerates the Obama administration’s reduction target of…

Northbridge sells Aldi-anchored shopping center in West Kendall for $22M

Northbridge Investment Management sold the Aldi-anchored Kendall Pointe shopping center in West Kendall for $22.4 million. A deed shows the Toronto-based investment firm sold the property at 16508 and 16514 Southwest 88th Street to Arlington Mass, which is tied to Miami-based self-storage provider A+ Storage. The buyer took out an $11.4 million loan…

Optimizing the office: How flex workspaces will bring tenants back

Companies have accepted that work-from-home is here to stay. Commercial landlords need to stay relevant. Enter the flexible office. TRD Brand Studio will host its first virtual event, Optimizing the office: How flexible workspaces will bring back office tenants, on Tuesday, May 4 at 2 p.m. EST. This live event will feature executives from Essensys, IWG, Industrious…

Ocean Terrace developers to pay $3M to settle lawsuit with Miami Beach

Miami Beach squeezed a $3 million payment from the developers of Ocean Terrace to end a dispute over floor-to-area ratio calculations for the North Beach mixed-use project. Miami Beach city commissioners on Wednesday approved a settlement agreement with Ocean Terrace Holdings that squashes a lawsuit the developers filed against Miami Beach in…

Fifteen Group sells off last piece of Homestead townhome portfolio for $101M

Fifteen Group sold the last piece of its Homestead townhome portfolio for $101 million. The Miami-based investment firm, led by brothers Mark and Ian Sanders, sold 157 units to an undisclosed bulk buyer, according to a release. Late last year, Fifteen Group sold the 292-unit Seascape Pointe community, within the assemblage, to Mast Capital. Fifteen Group…

Exeter Property Group buys Miami Gardens industrial property for $14M

Exeter Property Group bought a Miami Gardens industrial building occupied by RC Home Showcase for $13.5 million. The Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based commercial real estate investor, developer and manager purchased the property at 16115 Northwest 52nd Avenue from K2 Aluminum in an off-market deal, according to broker Jonathan Salk…

MMG’s Retail Real Estate Leases – Q1 2021

The South Florida retail market is witnessing quite a bit of activity despite the influence and presence of the pandemic, and it seems it is turning the page. There are several factors for this, but two primary reasons are: 1) Florida is back in business and much more open than other states, and 2) people…

Neology Debuts Allapattah Multifamily, No. 17 Residences

Neology Life Development Group has opened its first ground-up residential project in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood. The No. 17 Residences Allapattah has also pre-leased 50 percent of its units and will see residents move in this month, according to Neology. The luxury community offers 192 units in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans that range…

There’s “lots of runway in real estate”: Blackstone’s Jon Gray

Blackstone Group’s president and COO Jon Gray thinks higher inflation is on the way, and he thinks risky real estate investments could be the anecdote for investors. “What we’re trying to do is position ourselves for things that look and feel [the] least bond-like as much as possible,” Gray said Thursday during the investment giant’s first-quarter earnings call. Gray said safe…

Last call? Miami Beach proposal would ban future standalone and rooftop bars on Ocean Drive

Miami Beach’s strategy for killing the rowdy, at times violent, party atmosphere on Ocean Drive and nearby Collins Avenue involves curtailing development of future standalone and rooftop bars. The Miami Beach City Commission on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a slate of commercial changes aimed at revamping the Art Deco Historic District…

Biden administration considers Opportunity Zone overhaul

A Trump-era tax incentive was meant to drive investment into parts of the country that were struggling economically. Spoiler alert: It didn’t, and President Joe Biden’s administration is weighing what it wants to do about the program. For a recently released study on the program, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, looked at 2019 investment figures…

Tricera Capital, LNDMRK Acquire Cube Wynwd Office Building in Miami for $28M

Tricera Capital, a Miami-based real estate investment firm, and LNDMRK Development have acquired Cube Wynwd, a newly constructed office building with ground-floor retail space in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. RedSky Capital sold the property to the buyers for $28 million. Scott Wadler and Michael Basinski of Berkadia arranged the $27.5 million loan for…

Prestige scores $21M construction loan for three Hialeah workforce housing complexes

Prestige Companies is continuing its multifamily development spree in Hialeah, as it just scored a $21 million… loan for three workforce housing complexes. The Miami Lakes-based developer will start building Palm Avenue Lofts at 1201 Palm Avenue; Champions Lofts at 40 West 23 Street and 2290 Palm Avenue; and Poe’s Lofts at 7901 West Fourth Avenue…

Downtown Delray Beach retail building sells for $12M

A retail property along Atlantic Avenue in downtown Delray Beach sold for $11.5 million, delivering a windfall for the family that owned it for more than 40 years. The Cook family of Delray Beach, through an affiliate, sold the building at 325 East Atlantic Avenue to an entity managed by Steven Cohen of Delray Beach, records show. The buyer, 325 East Atlantic…

Mindful Capital buys Deerfield Beach industrial complex for $6 million

Mindful Capital Group bought a Deerfield Beach industrial property for $6 million. Delray Beach-based Mindful Capital, through an affiliate, bought the four-building complex at 830 Northeast 41st Court from Lotus Commerce Center, according to a deed. The 43,500-square-foot complex was built in 1991 on 4 acres, records show. The seller, managed by attorney…

Nuveen buys Coconut Creek multifamily complex for $47 million

An affiliate of global investment manager Nuveen bought a Coconut Creek multifamily complex for $46.5 million. CVIII Waterview Apt Holdings bought the 192-unit Waterview at 3621 Hillsboro Boulevard from Coral Gables-based Bar Invest Group, according to a deed. The buyer has the same New York address as Nuveen and lists several…

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

The sales to list price ratio as reported by the Miami MLS for improved commercial real estate (MLS classification: commercial/industrial) within Miami-Dade county in Florida priced from $1 million to $10 million in March came up a bit to 93% from 89.5% the month prior. Though off of highs in the past 10 years, this percentage is nonetheless in the upper…

Estate Companies sells Soleste Twenty2 apartments in West Miami for $97M

The Estate Companies sold its fourth West Miami multifamily community, this time for $97 million. The South Miami-based developer said it sold the 338-unit Soleste Twenty2 at 2201 Ludlam Road to Dallas-based Westdale Real Estate Investment Management. The sale equates to $286,982 per unit. The eight-story property on half an acre totals…

Estate Cos. Sells Newly Built, Luxury Apartment Community in West Miami for $97 Million

The Estate Cos. (EIG), a private developer of multifamily properties, has sold Soleste Twenty2 in west Miami for $97 million. The locally based developer completed the eight-story luxury apartment community in February 2020. An entity doing business as Westdale Twenty2 LLC purchased the 338-unit community. The buyer is an affiliate of Westdale Real Estate…

Panel: ‘Astronomical’ Multifamily Investment Demand Drives Up Pricing

The U.S. multifamily sector remains an attractive option for real estate investors looking for a safe haven. Beyond the pool of traditional buyers who are actively acquiring apartment properties, the sector has become a landing spot for companies that aren’t legacy multifamily owners. Steven DeFrancis, CEO of Cortland, cited REITs like Blackstone Real Estate…

Miami Senior Housing Project Lands $42M Loan

Royal Senior Care has received $41.9 million in construction financing for its upcoming, 217,123-square-foot luxury senior community, dubbed The Oasis at Coral Reef, in Miami’s Richmond Heights neighborhood. BHI’s Healthcare Group arranged the debt, which included a $31.9 million loan provided by BHI, along with a $10 million note from Coastal States Bank.

Chart: Miami-Dade Commercial Real Estate Sales March 2021

The chart herein displays the number of closed sales of Miami-Dade commercial properties, including improved commercial property and vacant commercial land, that were recorded in the Miami MLS for the two years ending February 2021. March, as can been seen, was a record for the past two years. Looking back farther than the data in this chart, March…

North Miami Beach approves mixed-use, multifamily Skygarden tower

North Miami Beach gave final approval for a Turkish developer to build a 19-story, mixed-use multifamily tower. Skygarden at 16900 Northeast 19th Avenue will be 224-feet tall and include 341 apartments, 12,635 square feet of retail space, 405 parking spaces, a recreational deck with a pool and garden on the sixth floor, a rooftop terrace, and public art. Developer…

Land Enterprise Service LLC Picks Up Miami Airport/Doral Industrial Land Site For $3.7 Million

State Street Realty recently completed an industrial land sale transaction valued at nearly $3.7 million within Beacon Lakes Business Park. The Class “A” +/-3 acre industrial land site is a prime property situated on NW 17 Street & 127th Avenue adjacent to the Florida Turnpike & Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) within the Miami Airport/Doral submarket.

Tech workers plan to head back to offices by Q3

By September, a slew of workers may be finally returning to their offices. That’s according to a new report by Savills, which surveyed more than 120 tech companies in March about their future office plans. More than 50 percent said they expect to be back in the office by the third quarter of this year. Twenty-four percent said they would be back by the fourth quarter…

Tricera, Alex Karakhanian buy Redsky’s Cube Wynwd for $28M

A joint venture between Tricera Capital and Alex Karakhanian’s Lndmrk Development paid $28 million for Redsky Capital’s new Class A Miami office building, The Real Deal has learned. Redsky and its joint venture partner, JZ Capital Partners, completed the eight-story, roughly 100,000-square-foot Cube Wynwd, at 222 Northwest 24th Street, in 2019. It’s about 30 percent…

Nightlife Mogul David Grutman Rumored to Be Eyeing Miami’s Wynwood Garage

Days after his lavish bash for his newest venture, the king of Miami’s nightlife, David Grutman, is said to be expanding his real estate portfolio into Wynwood, Commercial Observer has learned. Groot Hospitality, Grutman’s company, is in talks to lease a retail location at the Wynwood Garage located at 2660 NW 3rd Avenue, according to two sources…

‘Slammed’ With Showings And Deals: Miami Only Market In U.S. Expected To See Office Rents Grow

According to JLL’s most recent Office Insight Report for Miami, Q1 marked the fourth consecutive quarter of negative absorption, but “recent leasing activity suggests that occupancy gains will resume before the close of the year.” According to CBRE, Miami is the only market in the country that will see office rents grow in the next two years. “I would venture to say that…”

Gold Rush for Miami Restaurant Space as New Yorkers Make Their Move

It’s booked solid for a month in advance — inside at full capacity with no social distancing. Cote, a New York-based, Michelin-starred Korean steakhouse, opened its Miami branch in the swanky Design District on 3900 NE 2nd Avenue, in February. “We struck gold,” said Simon Kim, Cote’s owner.Miami’s restaurant market is thriving, in stark contrast to…

Sentinel buys Miami Beach, Bay Harbor Islands apartment portfolio for $97M

Sentinel Real Estate is betting big on the Miami Beach and Bay Harbor Islands multifamily market, buying a 452-unit portfolio for $96.6 million. The New York-based commercial real estate investment manager bought 25 buildings in Miami Beach and five in Bay Harbor Islands from various affiliates of Boardwalk Properties, according to deeds and a spokesperson…

Sentinel Real Estate Corporation Acquires Miami Beach Multifamily Portfolio for $96.57 Million

Sentinel Real Estate Corporation (“Sentinel”) announced today the $96.57 million acquisition of a 452-unit multifamily portfolio in Miami, Florida. The portfolio comprises a total of 30 individual properties – 25 of which are located in the heart of South Beach, with the other five located in the coveted submarket of Bay Harbor in North Miami Beach.

Retail landlords still suing over skipped rent

While businesses have been suing their insurers, commercial landlords have also been filing claims against tenants that have skipped rent, citing similar coronavirus losses. While no database tracks these cases, several recent rulings have gone against tenants. Movie theaters — one of the sectors the pandemic has pushed to the brink — have found little solace…

Lawsuits, interrupted: Judges nix business pandemic insurance claims

GreenStreet Cafe’s lunchtime rush had just ended on a recent afternoon, but the clamor of dishes in the kitchen hadn’t ceased. Business has finally picked up at the popular eatery in Miami’s Coconut Grove, known for its red velvet outdoor couches, a place where athletes and artists have dined over the past 30 years. Still, owner Sylvano Bignon is heated. A judge in…

Sunbeam Television completes $57M waterfront assemblage in North Bay Village

Sunbeam Television Corp., owned by the billionaire Ansin family, completed a waterfront assemblage of more than 6 acres in North Bay Village. Sunbeam, led by president and CEO Andy Ansin, most recently paid $13.5 million for the former Trio on the Bay restaurant site at 1601 79th Street, according to the brokers involved in the deal, Samuel Heskiel…

Notable Retail Leases Signed in South Florida Q1 2021

South Florida Retail Leases 2021 – 2020 We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the top retail leases signed by square footage in South Florida during Q1 2021. This quarter was busy overall, especially considering the current pandemic, and saw several big box leases signed and sealed. Despite the sentiment that the traditional retail market is…

E11even condo tower planned for downtown Miami reaches 90% of units under contract in two months

It’s last call for potential buyers of the E11even Hotel & Residences Miami. Developers Property Markets Group and E11even Partners officially launched sales in February for the 375-unit hotel and condo tower planned for downtown Miami’s Park West neighborhood, and now have 90 percent of the units under contract, The Real Deal has learned. Buyers put down…

Billionaire Vlad Doronin, partner score $128M construction loan for Brickell condo tower

OKO Group, the real estate development firm led by billionaire Vlad Doronin, and Jonathan Goldstein’s Cain International secured a $128.3 million construction loan for a waterfront Brickell condo project. Bank OZK provided the financing for Una Residences, a 47-story, 135-unit tower currently under construction, according to a press release…

Centennial Bank Provides $12.5M Construction Loan for Workforce Housing Project in Miami

Centennial Bank has provided a $12.5 million construction loan to Prestige Cos. and Florida Value Partners for Trails, a workforce housing project located on the Ludlam Trail at 1040 SW 70th Avenue in Miami. The project’s first phase will consist of two- to three-story garden-style buildings with 84 residential units ranging from one- to two-bedroom units listed from…

Single-tenant office buildings face higher risk of default

At one point, leasing an office building  to a single tenant rather than collecting from multiple smaller businesses seemed to be a sure thing. But now some office landlords who’ve relied on one tenant are at risk of losing their properties as more companies shed space, the Wall Street Journal reported. Just outside of Houston, oil company Schlumberger occupied…

Prestige Companies nabs $12M construction loan for multifamily project on Ludlam Trail

Prestige Companies scored a $12.4 million construction loan for a workforce housing project to be built on the site of a former mobile home park in central Miami-Dade County. Miami Lakes-based Prestige and Miami-based Florida Value Partners are building the $17 million The Trail garden-style community at 1040 Southwest 70th Avenue, along the…

Miami Marine Stadium champion looks to concerts revenue bonanza

The key to a financially successful restored Miami Marine Stadium will be concerts, says Don Worth, who has devoted much time for more than a dozen years to getting the stadium rebuilt and reopened. Mr. Worth was one of several speakers during a virtual community meeting April 15 about the future of the famous concrete stadium on Virginia Key. Sponsors…

Historic Walgreens site redevelopment clears alcohol hurdle

The success of a plan for major redevelopment of an historic building in Miami hinged in part on the ability to sell alcohol. Developers cleared that hurdle, and another involving parking, at the April meeting of the city’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board. The developers, 200 E Flagler Development LLC, had requested a zoning exception to permit…

Groot Hospitality, Partners Open Goodtime Hotel on South Beach

The Goodtime Hotel, the first collaborative lifestyle hotel brand from David Grutman of Groot Hospitality and Pharrell Williams, has opened on South Beach’s Washington Avenue and 6th Street in Miami Beach. Grutman and Williams worked alongside the real estate developers Michael Fascitelli and Eric Birnbaum of Imperial Cos. to build the hotel. Morris Adjmi was…

Miami’s mayor a magnet for Big Tech money

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s call to make Miami the new Silicon Valley has Big Tech and real estate pouring cash into his coffers. Newly minted venture capital billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya, crypto investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Shutterstock founder Jon Oringer and others are backing the mayor’s reelection campaign this year to the tune of more…

$414B PE Firm Apollo Considering Opening Miami Office; Employees Prefer

Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm with $414 billion under management, is considering opening a Miami office. The new office in Miami is being considered after the company surveyed employees on where they would like to work from, a spokesperson told Bloomberg. An office in West Palm Beach is also under consideration following the survey.

Techcrunch Founder Says Miami Is Now The World’s Best Place For Entrepreneurs: ‘So Perfect Right Now’

The founder of Techcrunch says there is no better place to be than Miami right now. Michael Arrington, who was once named by Time Magazine as one of the most influential people in the world, wrote in a Twitter thread that Miami is “so perfect right now,” and explained why. Part of the reason is the weather, but Arrington explained that it is much more than that.

TA Realty buys Hialeah Gardens warehouse for $26M

TA Realty bought a Hialeah Gardens warehouse for $25.8 million, amid pent-up market demand in light of e-commerce growth. Records show Boston-based TA Realty, through an affiliate, bought the property at 14001 Northwest 112th Avenue from EWA Hialeah Gardens Owner, which is tied to Denver-based EverWest Real Estate Investors. CBRE’s Jose Lobon…

Ivy Realty buys Miami-Dade warehouse with cold storage for $26M

Ivy Realty snagged a Miami-Dade County warehouse with cold storage for $26 million, as it continues to expand its South Florida industrial portfolio, The Real Deal has learned. The commercial real estate investor bought the property at 6950 Northwest 77th Court from an affiliate of The Apollo Group in a sale-leaseback. The Apollo Group, a logistics provider to cruise…

Lissette Calderon delivers first multifamily project in Allapattah

Developer Lissette Calderon has completed the first of her three apartment projects in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood. Nearly two and a half years after buying the land, Calderon’s Neology Life Development Group received a temporary certificate of occupancy for the 192-unit No. 17 Residences, a 13-story building at 1569 Northwest 17th Avenue. Calderon said it’s…

Sapir Organization’s Alex Sapir On Miami’s Condo Market

Early last year, Alex Sapir, president and CEO of The Sapir Organization, had received a certificate of occupancy for Arte, the 16-unit luxury condo his team developed in Surfside, just north of Miami Beach. He was working through a punch list when the coronavirus pandemic hit. “February of 2020, we were negotiating with two contracts which were, we thought…”

Publix Aims to Dominate Florida’s Supermarket Food Chain

To understand just how aggressively Publix Super Markets is blanketing South Florida with stores, look no farther than the corner of Commercial Boulevard and Dixie Highway in Oakland Park. At the northwest quadrant is a Publix that has operated for years. And just across Commercial Boulevard is another Publix. The newer location at the corner opened…

The Industrial Park of Doral Continues To Grow

Since March of 2020, more than 700 new companies have started operations in the Industrial Park of Doral, and many of these companies were already operating in our city. Now they are in search of larger spaces in order to expand and improve their operations. Manuel Pila, Economic Developer for the City of Doral, informed us about this, and he has also expressed that…

The Yield Curve as a Predictor of Future Growth and What Its Recent Steepening May Portend for the Economy

In recent weeks, the steepening yield curve has become a topic of conversation among market participants. For starters, the slope of the yield curve can be measured as the difference in nominal interest rates between long- and short-term U.S. Treasury securities. Using the spread or difference between the 10-year and two-year constant maturity Treasury rates…

Cities Look To Coworking To Accelerate Return To Work, Downtown Recovery

For more than a year, city governments encouraged people to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But that message has shifted, and cities are now pushing to bring people back to offices to help revive their downtown areas, and they see coworking spaces as a way to accelerate that effort. Over the last three months, Miami, New York and D.C. have…

Miami-Dade County wins lawsuit over Coconut Grove Playhouse partial demolition

A plan to partly demolish and renovate the historic Coconut Grove Playhouse is back in play, after a court struck Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s veto of the project. Miami-Dade County wants to build a 300-seat theater that would incorporate elements of the original 1927 auditorium and restore the facade. The playhouse has a city historic designation and…

Cryptofinance firm buys waterfront commercial condo to move HQ to Miami

Cryptofinance firm XBTO Group is moving its headquarters to Miami. The New York-based firm paid $5.4 million for a waterfront commercial condo at Biscayne Beach in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. Two Roads Development, which built the 51-story tower, sold the 5,400-square-foot space, said Arden Karson of Karson & Co., who brokered the deal.

Ironstate pays $16M for Wynwood site, marking first property in Miami

Ironstate Development Group purchased a property in Wynwood for $15.6 million, marking its first South Florida site, The Real Deal has learned. The Hoboken, New Jersey-based development firm, led by brothers David and Michael Barry, acquired the Art by God assemblage at 60 Northeast 27th Street. The buyer is 26-60 NE 27th Street LLC, according to brokers…

American Landmark buys Plantation apartments for $58M

American Landmark CEO Joe Lubeck and The Marin. (American Landmark, Arium) American Landmark Apartments bought The Marin by Arium for $58 million, with plans for renovations that include rebranding the complex as The Pearl. Tampa-based American Landmark, through an affiliate, purchased the 223-unit community at 3880-3960 West Broward Boulevard from CPI/Carroll Grove East Owner, which is an affiliate of Atlanta-based Carroll, according to a deed. The sale equates to $260,090 per unit. The garden-…

Alliance Consolidated sells Hallandale Beach medical office building for $6M

Alliance Consolidated Group of Companies sold a Hallandale Beach medical office building fully leased to a dialysis center for $5.9 million. Records show the Bannockburn, Illinois-based commercial real estate investor, through an affiliate, sold the building at 22 Southwest 11th Street to 30 Sherman Ave. Realty. It was a 1031 exchange, according to a press…

Urso Family Realty sells Fort Lauderdale warehouse for $11M

An entity tied to a West Coast shipping company bought a Fort Lauderdale warehouse for $10.6 million. Records show the buyer, led by Andrew Naumov, an executive of Richmond, California-based West Coast Shipping, bought the property at 6001 North Powerline Road from Urso Family Realty. The buying entity, 6001 Powerline LLC, secured a $5 million mortgage…

Capital Realty affiliate sells South Miami office and retail building for $5M

An affiliate of Capital Realty Services sold a mixed-use office and retail building along South Miami’s Sunset Drive for $5 million. Sunset One Properties sold the property at 5875-5887 Sunset Drive to 5875 Sunset Group, a Hollywood-based investment group led by Stanley and Michael Cohen, according to a deed. The two-story building totals 10,463 square…

Fill ‘er up: Power Petroleum buys Miami Beach 7-Eleven with gas station for $11M

Power Petroleum bought a Miami Beach 7-Eleven with a gas station for $11.25 million, the same amount as the listing price, the brokers said. The Pompano Beach-based, family owned petroleum supplier bought the property at 6348 Collins Avenue from Ivelise Daily, as trustee of the Sarah D. Brito Revocable Living Trust. Alejandro D’Alba and Scott Sandelin…

Gil Dezer partners with Bentley for luxury condo tower in Sunny Isles Beach

Developer Gil Dezer, known for his luxury condo towers and exotic car collection, is partnering with Bentley for his next project. Dezer Development will build a Bentley Motors-branded skyscraper on an oceanfront site in Sunny Isles Beach. Sales are expected to launch later this year, as early as October, Dezer told The Real Deal. It will mark the first…

Echoing Pre-COVID Times, Fed’s Beige Book Returns to Describing Modest Growth

The Beige Book has begun to sound rather ordinary again. After a year of pandemic-induced economic turmoil, that is welcome news indeed. The Atlanta Fed’s portion of the report summarizes southeastern economic conditions in the six weeks preceding each meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. For years, Beige Book descriptions of “modestly…”

Miami’s Brickell Area Makes List of 50 Priciest Submarkets for Office Space in Q4 2020

As the effects of the pandemic continue to be felt in the commercial real estate (CRE) world, some companies are switching up their future policies regarding work from home and reevaluating their office footprint. So, CommercialSearch conducted a study to find which were the 50 most expensive office space submarkets in Q4 2020. Overall, 42 of the 50…

Medical offices are just what the doctor ordered for landlords

Medical offices have been a bright spot for real estate investors during the pandemic, despite the fact that telehealth saw a boom during the pandemic. Doctors and medical professionals have remained on time with their rent payments in the past year, unlike other office tenants, the Wall Street Journal reported. While some tenants have paid less than 85 percent…

Pharrell’s Goodtime Hotel opens in Miami Beach

After roughly five years and $200 million, the Goodtime Hotel is almost open. The Washington Avenue hotel, developed by Imperial Companies’ Michael D. Fascitelli and Eric Birnbaum, opens Thursday. The developers brought on star talent… Pharrell Williams, hospitality mogul David Grutman and designer Ken Fulk… at 601 Washington Avenue…

$11.3M Sale Arranged of Miami Beach Property Leased to 7-Eleven

Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $11.3 million sale of a 4,370-square-foot retail property leased to 7-Eleven in Miami Beach. Alejandro D’Alba and Scott Sandelin of Marcus & Millichap marketed the property on behalf of the seller, an individual/personal trust known as Armando’s Service Station, Inc. (dba 7/11 Store). The buyer was Power Petroleum Inc…

Top-5 Miami Shopping Centers: Retail Market Trends & Analysis 2021

Miami’s incredible, sunny climate and outdoor, social lifestyle create a foundation for the fundamental presence of retail shopping centers and malls in the region. In fact, it’s a Top-10 Shopping Destination in the USA on a variety of lists, including Travel & Leisure’s latest list. This is just one of the many factors that makes…

Estate Companies scores $30M construction loan to turn Hialeah Ramada into multifamily

A plan to convert a long-closed Hialeah hotel into multifamily is moving forward, as the developer scored $29.5 million in construction financing. The Estate Companies has started construction to turn the Ramada Inn at 1950 West 49 Street into Alture Westland, according to a press release. The project is expected to be finished in the fourth quarter.

Accor to Run Miami Worldcenter Tower Under Morgans Originals Brand

Miami-based real estate developer Royal Palm Companies (RPC) and French hospitality behemoth Accor will team up to operate the luxury skyscraper, Legacy Hotel & Residences at Miami Worldcenter, a 27-acre, mega-development project situated in the city’s downtown, Commercial Observer has learned. Accor will manage and operate the building under the…

Commercial Property Sales Close in Coral Gables Central Business District as City Continues to Evolve

The Coral Gables central business district is quickly taking on a new form. The Plaza, to the east of the Ponce Circle, is coming online, with one office tower recently completed and another expected to be toward the end of 2021. Together, these towers will add nearly half a million square feet of office space to the area. Big tenants have reportedly already signed up…

Public-private deal’s apartments downtown set to take tenants

Grand Station Apartments, the product of a public-private partnership with the Miami Parking Authority (MPA), is ready to begin lining up tenants that will fill its 300 units. ROVR Development has announced it has begun pre-leasing for Grand Station Apartments, a 30-story apartment tower in the heart of Downtown Miami. Expected move-in will take place over the…

Miami-Dade housing rents dip a hair

As the vaccine rollout allows the economy to slowly reopen and replenish jobs, the need for multifamily rental spaces has increased throughout Miami-Dade County. So far in 2021, the average effective rent year-over-year is down 0.2 % in Miami-Dade Metro Area, compared to a 2.7% decrease in 2020, according to Marcus Millichap’s 2021 first-quarter multifamily…

East-West transit corridor might have lost a major funder

With the future of the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) in legal limbo, the county is developing alternative plans for building and operating a rapid bus service known as the East-West Corridor. The plan now for the route linking West Miami-Dade to Miami International Airport and downtown Miami along the 836 (one of five toll roads MDX oversaw)…

Ronny Finvarb plans boutique hotel on Alton Road site in Miami Beach

Miami Beach hotelier Ronny Finvarb closed on the site of a planned boutique hotel on Alton Road. Finvarb’s Sobe 18 LLC paid $4 million for the 10,200-square-foot property at 1790 Alton Road in Miami Beach, he said. There, he plans to build a 36-key hotel with a restaurant on the ground floor. Property records show 1790 Alton Holdings LLC sold the lot.

Lease roundup: Iberia Foods takes 78K sf space in Hialeah; more

Centergate at Gratigny Iberia Foods inked a nearly 78,000-square-foot lease at Centergate at Gratigny in Hialeah. The three-building Class A industrial property at 5801 and 6301 East 10th Avenue totals 1.6 million square feet. Easton & Associates’ Michael Waite represented Iberia. Transwestern Real Estate Services’ Thomas Kresse, Walter Byrd, Ben Eisenberg and…

Terreno Realty Buys Miami-Dade Property, Plans Warehouse Development

Terreno Realty Corp. said it plans to build a pair of warehouses in Miami-Dade County after buying a vacant site in the Gladeview area. VF 73rd Street LLC, managed by Rene Vivo Jr. and Augusto J. Fonte in Hialeah, sold the 5.8-acre site at 3000 NW 73rd Street to Bellevue, Washington-based Terreno Realty Corp. for $5.8 million. The property…

Over 340M sf of industrial space set for delivery in 2021

Tesla’s Gigafactory (Tesla) Everything is bigger in Texas so it’s no surprise the Dallas area is leading the way in industrial construction. About 28 million square feet of warehouses and distribution centers across 81 projects in Dallas-Fort Worth are scheduled to be completed by year-end, according to a report from CommercialSearch, a CRE listings company.

Dollar General thrives amid retail apocalypse

Don’t tell Dollar General that brick-and-mortar retail is dead. The retailer plans to open 1,050 new stores this year, Business Insider reported, part of an aggressive expansion plan that goes against the push many retailers have made to increase their online operations. That follows a similar pace of expansion in 2020, when 1,000 new stores opened and 1,670…

Michael Stern’s tower site deemed brownfield, paving way for tax breaks

The site of Michael Stern’s planned 62-story One Southside project in Brickell is officially a brownfield… The designation will allow Stern, founder of New York-based JDS Development, to pursue state tax credits as well as grants from the federal EPA to remove any contamination found on 32,250-square feet at Southwest Second Avenue and 12th Street owned…

McDonald’s to shutter hundreds of Walmart outposts

As fast-food restaurants with drive-throughs have gained popularity, those without have waned. Now, McDonald’s is planning to close hundreds of its eateries in Walmart stores by the end of the summer, the Wall Street Journal reports. That will leave just 150 of the Golden Arches’ Walmart locations across the country — down from 500 at the start of 2020…

Owners of historic Shelborne hotel in South Beach seek approval for renovation

The owners of the historic Shelborne Hotel at 1801 Collins Avenue are planning a renovation of the oceanfront South Beach property. Shelborne Hotel Partners WC LP submitted a proposal to the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board for the partial demolition, renovation and restoration of portions of the hotel. The ownership group also wants to add a…

Mall vacancy rate hits all-time high

It’s not just office and residential landlords who need to worry about soaring vacancy rates. The vacancy rate for regional and superregional malls hit 11.4 percent in the first quarter of 2021, the highest it’s ever been. That’s up from 10.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 — an increase of 90 basis points in a single quarter, according to a report by Moody’s…

Remote Work Expected to Decrease Office Density and Demand

The era of tightly packed offices could be gone as office spaces are expected to be less dense in the coming years as remote work seems here to stay, CoStar Group predicted. CoStar suspects that a hybrid, part-home, part-office work model might prove the most efficient and productive for employees. Plus, both workers and employers prefer the flexibility.

Astor Companies scores $32M construction loan for Miami apartments

The Astor Companies scored a $32.4 million construction loan for its planned mixed-income, multifamily project near Miami’s Flagler Street. Coral Gables-based Astor, led by founder Henry Torres, is developing the 10-story, 199-unit Douglas Enclave at 61 Northwest 37th Avenue. Ocean Bank issued the loan, according to records. Astor plans to start…

Brickell dev site hits market, broker expects it to fetch more than $25M

A developable assemblage in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood hit the market, with zoning that allows for two 48-story towers. The listing broker said he expects it to sell for more than $25 million. Owner Progesti Corp. listed the 1.3 acres at 180 Southwest Ninth Street, 244 Southwest Ninth Street, and 901 Southwest Third Avenue. Progesti, whose president is Jose Nunez…

Planet Cellular Purchases Doral Office/Warehouse Facility

Planet Cellular paid $4,400,000 for a ±30,000-square-foot office/warehouse facility located at 8788 NW 15 Street in Doral. Based in Los Angeles, California, Planet Cellular Inc. (PCI) is a specialized re-seller of IT and telecommunication hardware equipment and software services, cellphones, peripheral devices, and streaming devices. Daniel P. Cook, Owner…

Landmark Cos. buys Coral Springs apartments for $40M

Landmark Cos. paid $40.2 million for Coral Falls Apartment Homes in Coral Springs, marking the investor’s second multifamily community in Broward County. Keasbey, New Jersey-based Landmark, through an affiliate, bought the 190-unit complex at 2801 Northwest 91 Avenue. The seller is CF Partners Limited, an affiliate of Iron River Management, according to…

Continental Realty buys LA Fitness-anchored shopping center near Wellington

LA Fitness Continental Realty Corp. bought the LA Fitness-anchored Shoppes at Sherbrooke retail center near Wellington for $11.3 million. Baltimore, Maryland-based Continental Realty bought the plaza at 8888-8954 Lantana Road on behalf of its Continental Realty Fund V, according to a press release. The seller is G&I VIII Sherbrooke, an affiliate of New…

Koda Interstate buys Riviera Beach industrial park for $13M

An industrial park in an Opportunity Zone in Riviera Beach sold for $12.8 million, another sign of strength in the market sector. Koda Interstate bought the complex at 6555 and 6557 Garden Road and at 3541 Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Boulevard from Interstate Industrial Park Holdings, according to a press release. Hollywood-based Koda is led by Brandon…

Pair Of 300-Foot Towers Will Be Tallest On Fort Lauderdale Beach

Kolter Urban, a developer based in Delray Beach, Florida, announced today that it is launching sales for two tall, slender towers that will rise 300 feet above sea level on Fort Lauderdale Beach. They are slated to be the beach’s tallest structures. Located at 3000 Alhambra St., the beachfront project will be called Selene Oceanfront Residences. Its towers are designed to be…

Codina Partners’ plan for Coral Gables rental tower advances with three-way property swap

Codina Partners’ plan for a high-end rental tower in Coral Gables is a step closer… As part of the three-way trade, Codina Partners bought a 1.3-acre development site… bought Coral Gables’ former police building at 2801 Salzedo Street from the city for $16.7 million… had given the city land for its new police department headquarters at 2151 Salzedo Street.

Terreno Realty pays $50 million for two buildings at FECI’s Hialeah industrial complex

Terreno Realty Corp. paid $50 million for two recently completed industrial buildings at Countyline Corporate Park in Hialeah. San Francisco-based Terreno Realty, a publicly traded industrial real estate investor, bought the properties at 4021 and 4071 West 108 Street from affiliates of Florida East Coast Industries, records show. The buildings total 274,000 square feet…

Miami Worldcenter developer sells 1-acre lot to Abbhi Capital, doubling its site

Miami Worldcenter Associates sold another piece of the mega-project to Coral Gables investment firm Abbhi Capital. Abbhi paid $20 million for the 1-acre development site between Northeast 10th and 11th streets along Northeast First Avenue, according to a press release. It’s zoned for nearly 850 residential units and 1.2 million square feet…

Chart: TIPS Spread Indicating Highest Inflation Expectations in 13 Years

The TIPS spread, United States Treasury bond yields less Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) yields, for the 5 years ending April 2, 2021. The TIPS spread is the difference in the yields between United States Treasury bonds and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). It is a useful and oft-quoted measure of expectations for (CPI) inflation in the financial…

The Fed: Is Inflation Making a Comeback?

The average price level dropped sharply during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and has gradually recovered since then. As a result, annual inflation has remained low: The 12-month change in the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index reached 0.5% in April 2020, its smallest increase that year. Core PCE inflation (which excludes food…

Florida lawmakers look to restrict impact fees

Amid a booming real-estate market in many areas, state lawmakers are moving forward with proposals that would place additional restrictions on impact fees that cities, counties and school boards say are needed to help keep up with growth. House and Senate committees Wednesday approved bills that include putting limits on impact-fee increases and defining…

Bank OZK Provides $64.8 Million Construction Loan for Natura Gardens Apartments in Miami

Bank OZK has provided $64.8 million in construction financing to Terra and New Valley, the development partners of Natura Gardens, a multifamily community in Miami. The loan will fund the ongoing construction of the 23-acre community, which will encompass 460 garden-style apartments across 12 three-story residential buildings. The development broke ground…

TM Real Estate sells Miami Gardens office park for $15 million

TM Real Estate Group sold the Lincoln Square office complex in Miami Gardens for $15.35 million. Coconut Grove-based TM Real Estate sold the office park at 18405 Northwest Second Avenue to Preminger Investments, according to a news release. The buyer assumed an $11.5 million CMBS loan on the property with a fixed interest rate of 4.9 percent and about…

$15.4 Million Sale of Lincoln Square Office Complex in Metro Miami Arranged

Aztec Group Inc., a real estate investment and merchant banking firm, has arranged the $15.4 million sale of Lincoln Square, a 116,560-square-foot suburban office complex located at 18405 NW 2nd Avenue in Miami Gardens. Peter Mekras and Brell Tarich of Aztec Group led the transaction. Miami-based TM Real Estate Group ran a marketing process to sell the…

Opportunity Zone investors pour in ahead of key deadlines

This is a critical year for Opportunity Zone investors. Real estate developers, property owners and funds have until the end of December to take full advantage of the federal tax-break program, but have also benefited from a Covid-related deadline extension. Though the coronavirus briefly paused Opportunity Zone investment nationwide, backers…

These US real estate titans made Forbes’ 2021 billionaires list

The world minted new billionaires at a rate of one every 17 hours in 2020 — and some of those came from the real estate industry. Zillow co-founders Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink, eXp World Holdings founder Glenn Sanford and his wife Penny, and Florida home-builder Patrick Zalupski were among the real estate industry’s newest entrants into the ranks of the uber…

Foreclosures and evictions could be halted for rest of 2021

An onslaught of home foreclosures and evictions could be forestalled for another year. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking at restrictions on mortgage servicers that would prevent struggling homeowners from going straight into foreclosure. The agency has proposed a measure to stop mortgage servicers from proceeding with…

Office landlords offer discounts to lock in leases

Office landlords in New York, Chicago and San Francisco could be taking a hit in the next few years even if some companies lock in long-term leases. More companies are keeping their offices, but are downsizing those spaces to allow employees to work remotely part-time, according to data from VTS, first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The analysis shows that…

Miami-Dade seeks federal funding for Northeast commuter rail line

Background work for a planned commuter rail linking Miami to Aventura is underway, as Miami-Dade applied last month for federal funding for the project and is in talks with operator Brightline to run the route. If all goes according to schedule, construction of what is known as the Northeast Corridor will be done in 2024, according to Luis Espinoza, spokesman…

State finishes six-year, $260 million Krome Avenue upgrade

After more than six years of non-stop construction to enhance Miami-Dade’s westernmost thoroughfare, the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) $260 million Krome Avenue improvement program is finished. FDOT on Friday announced completion of the 11th and final project in the program, which began in February 2015. The projects…

David Martin: Leads Terra to develop projects based on community needs

David Martin wants to build better neighborhoods. His firm, Terra, has developed more than 5 million square feet of residential, commercial and mixed-use projects. Another 3 million or so square feet are on the way, adding up to more than $8 billion portfolio of assets. In the 20 years since he co-founded Terra with his father, Pedro Martin, the company’s aim…

Miami Industrial Real Estate Quarterly Market Report Released: 1st Quarter 2021

The Miami industrial market’s Q1 vacancy rate was 4.6% at the close of the quarter with a $13.16 per sq. ft. average (gross) lease rate. Industrial vacancies are for Miami warehouses are back below the National Index rate after climbing higher in 2020 for the first time in 20 years. Deliveries have totaled 4.7 million sq. ft. over the past 12 months. After trending…

Terra scores $65 million loan for Northwest Miami-Dade project

Terra is moving forward with its multifamily project in northwest Miami-Dade County, near the planned American Dream Miami mega-mall. Terra and New Valley secured a $64.8 million construction loan from Little Rock, Arkansas-based Bank OZK for Natura Gardens, a 460-unit development planned for a 23-acre site along Northwest 170 Street between…

Miami’s Real Estate Boom: Too Good To Be True?

Every Monday, Mirielle Enlow, executive vice president of operations for Keller Williams in Miami Beach, gathers her top real estate agents for a meeting that she calls the Millionaire Mega-Agent Mastermind. With South Florida now experiencing a well-publicized real estate boom characterized by top-dollar prices and fierce competition for homes, you might expect…

Amol Sarva trashes Newmark after ouster from Knotel

Knotel co-founder Amol Sarva took some shots at its new owner, Newmark, on his way out the door of the flex office company he ran into the ground. In a blistering email Friday evening, Sarva accused the brokerage of using the bankruptcy process to take over the once high-flying Knotel and damaging the company’s relationships. In months leading up to…

Peebles accuses former associate of “anonymous and malicious” smear campaign

Don Peebles is accusing one of his rivals of running a covert smear campaign against him. The Peebles Corporation head claims that former business associate Daniel Hoeg used untraceable Russian servers to send anonymous, defamatory emails to public officials who were reviewing Peebles’ real estate projects, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in…

Big Tech firms led office leasing in 2020

Big Tech keeps getting bigger, and the office footprint of the companies in the sector is keeping pace. Tech firms leased more office space than any other industry last year, according to CBRE’s latest TechInsights report. In total, the tech sector took about 26 million square feet in 2020, which accounted for 17 percent of total office leases. Tech has dominated…

Construction, leisure & hospitality jobs rebounded in March

The leisure and hospitality industry bounced back in March, adding 280,000 jobs to the economy as hotels, restaurants and bars continued to reopen across the country. Bars and restaurants saw the majority of job gains last month, as 175,000 individuals were brought back to work, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hotels added…

Visualizing the CRE Market Timer’s Thought Process

These probability distribution charts are the topic of this article. The first is a normal distribution of returns using a combination of a cap rate of 5% and rent growth of 2% (and assuming an unchanged cap rate a year later) further assuming an annualized standard deviation of returns of 6.5%. The second is how some market participants feel this is in reality now…

Openings From Carbone to Moxy Hotel Enliven the Miami Scene

Things were looking grim last year, when Miami’s hospitality industry took an estimated $3.4 billion hit from March to August 2020, according to a recent study. Fast forward to March 2021, when the city’s hotel occupancy rate hit 80.7 percent, according to data from STR, with many Miami Beach hotels reporting sold-out weekends — and Miami was back as one of…

Video: GSU’s Jon Wiley, PhD and Lynn Mckee on Opportunity Zones and the Office Market

Jon Wiley, PhD, Professor at J. Mack Robinson School of Business at Georgia State University, and Lynn Mckee, Lecturing Professor at the J. Mack Robinson School or Business at Georgia State University and Senior Vice President and Commercial Real Estate Banker at SunTrust Bank, appear on America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss opportunity zones…

New York Taqueria Tacombi Comes to Miami

Yet another Big Apple institution is coming to South Florida. Tacombi, the popular New York-based taqueria chain, will open two branches in Miami this year. One location is slated to open in October by Lincoln Road, the popular shopping street in South Beach, according to information from the Lincoln Road Business Improvement District. Tacombi has signed up…

Q&A With Yair Levy, Developer Of Miami’s Time Century Jewelry Center

Yair Levy, founder of Time Century Holdings, is the developer behind the Time Century Jewelry Center, a planned epicenter for Miami’s jewelry and diamond trade that will command an entire square block when it opens in mid-2022. Levy is sinking $50 million into the renovation of a lackluster shopping mall in downtown Miami to create his 225,000-square-foot…

Cold Storage’s Explosive Growth Hasn’t Removed Its Risk

The growth in the cold storage sector of industrial real estate over the past 12 months has been simply staggering. Average rent for U.S. cold storage space increased about 15% from the first quarter through the end of last year, CoStar Group reports. Since 2017, rent in the sector has grown by 29%, easily outpacing the still-impressive 21% growth in industrial…

Construction spending fell slightly in February

Thanks to bad weather and pricier materials, construction spending fell slightly last month — though it’s still higher than it was last year. National construction spending dropped 0.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted estimated rate of $1.516 trillion in February, according to the Census Bureau’s monthly report. In January, spending hit a record rate of…

Wynwood Norte plan aims to spur new affordable housing development

A city of Miami zoning overhaul of a traditionally single-family neighborhood just north of Wynwood is largely aimed at enticing affordable housing development in the area. The Miami City Commission last week unanimously approved the Wynwood Norte Neighborhood Revitalization District, a zoning overlay that proponents claim will…

Canadian investor scoops up Hallandale Beach office building for $17M

A Canadian real estate investor expanding its holdings into South Florida bought a Hallandale Beach office building for $16.5 million. Soliman Corporation, based in Montreal, purchased the 1250 Building from Murray Family Associates, an affiliate of Hallandale Beach-based real estate firm KEI Properties, the buyer said. It’s roughly 80 percent occupied.

CubeSmart buys Weston self-storage for nearly $12M

CubeSmart scooped up a Weston self-storage facility for $11.5 million. The Malvern, Pennsylvania-based company bought the building at 1500 North Park Drive from an affiliate of South Florida real estate investor Leo Ghitis, according to a deed. The 93,182-square-foot storage facility was built in 1991 on 6 acres, property records show. Ghitis, through 1500…

Publix pays $10 million for site of new Fort Lauderdale supermarket

Publix is advancing its plan for a new store in Fort Lauderdale’s Lauderdale Beach neighborhood, buying the development site for $10 million. Deed records show Publix bought 1.4 acres of mostly parking lots and an existing retail building at 2985 North Ocean Boulevard in two separate purchases. In one deal, Publix bought 0.9 acres consisting of two adjacent parking…

Intalex Capital buys Plantation office park for $15M

Intalex Capital bought a Plantation office complex, Executive Court at Jacaranda, for $15 million. Fort Lauderdale-based Intalex Capital, through an affiliate, bought the offices at 7800-8040 Peters Road from Executive Properties, according to a deed. Intalex took out an $11.2 million loan from Pacific National Bank to finance the purchase. Property records show…

Kushner’s Proposed 1M SF Industrial Project in Palm Beach County Could Impact Florida Agricultural Reserve

Palm Beach County, Florida, commissioners in 1980 set aside 21,000 acres in the western part of the county as an agricultural preserve for farmland, wetlands, water resources and open space. Now, New York-based Kushner Cos. intends to build a massive, 1M SF industrial warehouse on 51 acres that had long been the site of a plant nursery. To proceed, Kushner would…