Robert Finvarb sells AC Hotel Miami Beach to TPG

Global investment firm TPG continues its hotel buying spree in South Florida. An affiliate of TPG paid $45.3 million for the 150-room AC Hotel Miami Beach at 2912 Collins Avenue, records show. The price represents what TPG paid for the real estate, but it is not the total price for the hotel asset, which the buyer and seller declined to disclose. At $45.3 million…

Bowery Properties buys Little Haiti apartment portfolio for Near $12M

An apartment portfolio in Miami’s Little Haiti sold for $11.6 million, as the neighborhood undergoes redevelopment. Bowery Properties, led by Thomas Neary, bought Buena Vista Gardens, an 89-unit complex at 5601 Northwest First Avenue, according to a news release. Secamar LLC, led by Carlos, Martha and Carmen Sesin sold the apartments, records show.

Landlords plead rent relief as Biden to approve new, targeted eviction ban

Three days after the federal eviction ban lapsed, President Biden is expected to introduce a new moratorium that would freeze proceedings for up to 60 days in areas with the highest rates of new Covid infections. The White House expects those areas to cover about 90 percent of the nation’s renters, the New York Times reported Tuesday. Like using duct tape to…

Miami-Dade judge nixes Fisher Island lawsuit, paving way for new condo project

Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Michael Hanzman blocked a legal maneuver aimed at stopping Heinrich Von Hanau from building one more luxury condominium and 12 houses on Fisher Island. Hanzman approved a settlement agreement on Monday involving Von Hanau’s Fisher Island Holdings, while dismissing a lawsuit filed by homeowners Thomas…

Miami Beach seeks buyers for city-owned development sites

Miami Beach will be entertaining offers for five city-owned development sites, but it is holding off on listing the more valuable oceanfront site of North Shore library. The Miami Beach City Commission last week opted to delay issuing requests for proposals for the lots making up the 1.37-acre library parcel at 7505 Collins Avenue, following push-back from several…

Michael Stern forms $200M SPAC with former Citadel analysts

Michael Stern of JDS Development JDS Development’s Michael Stern has found his next venture, confidentially filing to form a SPAC with two former Citadel credit analysts. The blank-check firm, called Onyx Acquisition Co. I, will seek $200 million to target general industrial and construction-tech companies valued at between $1 billion and $2 billion, Bloomberg News…

Fill ‘er up: RaceTrac buys Medley auto junkyard for $9M

RaceTrac closed on an auto junkyard in Medley, paying $8.9 million for the redevelopment site. The 8.3-acre property at 8300 Northwest 74th Street will likely be converted into a filling station, convenience store and truck rest stop, according to Daniel Pou, leasing director for Horizon Properties of Miami. Pou, along with Alex Sanchez of commercial real estate firm…

Twin 60-story Edgewater towers on Biscayne Bay win OK

The Melo Group plans a pair of 60-story towers for Edgewater and the promise of a major portion of the growing public baywalk. Aria Reserve is proposed for a more than three-acre site on Biscayne Bay at 700 NE 24th Street. The owner is listed as 24 Plaza Corp, an affiliate of the Melo family development company, owner-developers of many major mixed-use…

Ferry linking Miami to Miami Beach to cast off this month

Poseidon Ferry, Miami’s long-awaited waterborne commuter service, plans to resume hourly trips between Miami and Miami Beach on Aug. 26, and CEO Johnathan Silvia says he expects smooth sailing ahead. The ferry, which was launched at the end of last November, “had a good run for about a month and a week,” he said, before the second wave of Covid-19 forced…

Miami cuts Jungle Island debt to get hotel project moving

Miami city commissioners have approved a deal giving the owners of Jungle Island a financial break on money they owe the city, and the move is hoped to help the company get financing so it can build a big hotel at the Watson Island site. The decision came at the commission’s July 22 meeting, but only after spirited comments from Commissioner Joe Carollo who…

Lane closures, traffic shift coming in I-395 mega-change

Two major lane closures and a traffic shift are planned soon as construction moves ahead on the expansive I-395/SR 836/I-95 Design-Build Project in Miami. The work by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a partnership with the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and its contractor, the Archer Western – de Moya Group Joint Venture. The massive project…

Simon Property raises full-year guidance as shoppers return to stores

Simon Property Group raised its full-year earnings guidance as consumers returned to shopping centers and malls after Covid-19 lockdowns were mostly lifted across the country in the second quarter. Funds from operations rose to $1.21 billion, 53 percent higher than the year-ago period when some stores were just beginning to reopen after months of…

David Edelstein, partner close on missing piece of Wynwood assemblage for office towers

Developer David Edelstein’s TriStar Capital and partner RAL Development paid $13 million to complete an assemblage in Miami’s Wynwood where the two firms are planning a $200 million Class A office project, The Real Deal has learned. Edelstein said the partnership plans to break ground in about six months on a two-tower, mixed-use development with 300,000 square…

Cardboard demand could fuel an industrial real estate boom

In the industrial real estate sector, e-commerce is the rising tide that lifts all boats — even those made of cardboard. As consumers and retailers alike rely more heavily on e-commerce during the pandemic, the demand for packaging has increased too, from cardboard boxes to plastic bags and padded envelopes. With production increasing, more cardboard factories…

Longpoint Realty adds three Opa-locka warehouses to South Florida portfolio

Longpoint Managing Partner Dwight Angelini and the properties Longpoint Realty picked up three Opa-locka warehouses for $21.8 million, beefing up the Boston-based private equity firm’s South Florida portfolio. The company acquired the industrial properties at 13200, 13260 and 13290 Northwest 45th Avenue from J.R. Realty Corp, a Hialeah-based real estate firm…

Democrats urge Biden to extend eviction ban after House effort falls short

Hours after a federal stay on evictions lapsed, Democratic lawmakers pleaded with President Joe Biden to extend the ban, warning that millions of Americans are now at risk of being put out on the street. The moratorium officially expired at midnight on Saturday, threatening an estimated 3.6 million renters. In response, Congressional Democrats are calling on…

South Florida industrial sector keeps beating pandemic odds, Q2 report shows

South Florida’s industrial sector continues to outperform the rest of the market still battling through the pandemic. Industrial rents rose significantly and leasing activity more than doubled throughout the region, according to second quarter reports by Avision Young. In turn, industrial investment activity in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties…

OKO, Cain Top Off 57-Story Miami Tower

Missoni Baia tower, a luxury condominium from OKO Group and Cain International, has moved one step closer to completion with the topping off of construction. The 57-story, 649-foot-tall, Missoni-branded residential tower, situated at 777 NE 26th Terrace within Miami’s Edgewater enclave, is on track for completion ahead of schedule later this year. The one- to…

Here’s what tenants pay at MG3 REIT’s Doral Concourse

The following is a preview of one of the hundreds of data sets that will be available on TRD Pro — the one-stop real estate terminal that provides all the data and market information you need. Next to Related Group and Shoma Group’s CityPlace Doral in the growing city of Doral in northwest Miami-Dade County, the six…

Doral Population Rises 6.3% In A Year

Doral has been a culturally diverse city being represented by many nationalities, with a recent influx of people moving from other regions in the US. People coming from Argentina, Brazil and across the country have grown substantially and are welcomed as new Doral residents to help thrive an eclectic and culturally rich city, said Mayor…

Johnson & Wales sells more North Miami properties for $21M

Johnson & Wales University is not done… Izhak’s Biscayne Apts Development LLC this week paid $12.3 million for the shuttered college’s golf management center and an adjoining student apartment building at 12350 Biscayne Boulevard, along with a surface parking lot and a vacant lot at 1650 Northeast 124th Street, according to records. Last month…

Lions Group NYC buys downtown Miami dev site to build apartment tower

A Long Island-based real estate investment firm is making its first dive into the downtown Miami multifamily market, The Real Deal has learned. Albert Shirian’s Lions Group NYC closed Thursday on a development site at 56 Southwest First Street and 65 Southwest 2nd Street that includes air rights above a parking garage owned by the Miami Parking Authority. The…

Rubells add to Allapattah portfolio with former pork processing facility

A former pork processing facility in Allapattah could be given a new life. Jason and Mera Rubell of the art collector family paid $5.4 million for the former Hightop Products warehouse at 1000 Northwest 23rd Street in Miami, The Real Deal has learned. A company led by Charlie and Marilyn Vazquez sold the 1-acre property. Stefano Santoro, broker and partner…

‘Very, Very Seller-Friendly’: Prime Miami Retail Properties Going To Auction

On Tuesday, a 7,762 SF building at 226-228 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach’s famed shopping street, traded for $5.8M. It was sold at auction… The owner of the neighboring building at 230 Lincoln Road, a four-story retail building with a Ross Dress For Less on the second and third floors, watched and admired the process and decided to auction his building too. That wil…

Bankruptcy could lead to redevelopment of downtown Miami Holiday Inn

The owner of a Holiday Inn in downtown Miami filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with a plan aimed at luring investors to redevelop the site. With its close proximity to PortMiami, Bayside Marketplace and the planned Waldorf Astoria Miami luxury tower, the hotel owner’s attorney Linda Worton Jackson said the 10-story… at 340 Biscayne Boulevard…

Warehouse Distributor Carbel Signs 360K SF Lease at First Park Miami

Warehouse distribution company Carbel signed a 368,287 square-foot lease at First Park Miami, in a deal announced by CBRE, which represented the owner, First Industrial Realty Trust. The 126-acre complex, currently under construction, will comprise four buildings with 2.5 million square feet of logistics space. Located at 8801 NW 87th Avenue, the property sits on…

Was The Great Pandemic Migration To Miami Overhyped?

As the coronavirus spread last year, there were stories galore about people moving away from major cities to places that are less dense and more affordable. South Florida was made out as a big beneficiary of this trend, with a governor who resisted mask mandates and lockdowns and warm weather that allowed people to be outdoors even during winter. People…

South Florida resident Jared Kushner to launch Miami investment firm

South Florida appears to be having an inspirational effect on Jared Kushner. The ex-White House adviser and son-in-law of former President Donald Trump is launching a Miami-based investment firm called Affinity Partners. Kushner has spent the past six months with his wife Ivanka Trump in Surfside, where he’s been working on a book about his…

Miami Market Update: Office Vacancy Stays on Downward Trajectory

By the end of June, Miami’s office vacancy clocked in at 14.6 percent, down 20 basis point month-over-month and up 10 basis points year-over-year, according to CommercialEdge data. Coming into the second half of the year, Miami and Los Angeles are the only gateway markets to see vacancy come down since the start of 2021. Magic City’s office vacancy rate has fallen…

Biden wants Congress to extend the eviction ban

In another eleventh-hour intervention, President Biden is urging Congress to extend the federal ban on evictions past its scheduled expiration on July 31. In a statement Thursday morning, the White House cited the spread of the Delta variant, particularly among Americans “both most likely to face evictions and lacking vaccinations” as grounds for continuing the ban…

Sunset Harbour’s new zoning district bans Ronny Finvarb’s planned hotel, allows taller offices

Developer Ronny Finvarb won’t be able to build his planned hotel in Sunset Harbour, but taller office buildings are now allowed. The Miami Beach City Commission unanimously passed a new Sunset Harbour zoning overlay district on Wednesday that increases the height limit for office buildings to 65 feet from 50 feet. The district — bounded by 20th Street, Alton Road…

Miami’s Restaurants are Back on Track, Entertainment and Big Box Users are Still Healing

What a difference a year makes! Retail real estate in Miami is not dead nor in the depths of huge vacancy rates and declining rents; current vacancy rate is 4.3 percent and rental rates have slipped by 0.1 percent over the past year. Let’s explore several indicators of the value and use of the current state of the shopping center industry, restaurant space, entertainment…

Flex Office Strives and Thrives in South Florida

South Florida has long been viewed as a center for tourism, hospitality and logistics. These traditional industries are combining with new sources of economic growth, and a wave of new-to-market companies—including Shiftpixy, Boston Private and Point 72 Asset Management—are further spurring interest in the area. Pipeline Workspaces is one of the shared…

Miami Baywalk and Riverwalk Design Approved – Marks Long-Awaited Progress

The Miami City Commission has approved the design guidelines for the Miami Baywalk and Riverwalk, a four-mile, waterfront promenade project in Downtown Miami that has been in development for over 40 years. Extending from the northern Coconut Grove/southern Brickell area north through Downtown Miami and up to Edgewater, the Miami Baywalk…

Five Questions With Miami-Based Multifamily Investor Tzadik Properties’ Adam Hendry

Adam Hendry loves living and working in South Florida. But as a value investor, he simply can’t find the sort of bargains that entice him. During the Great Recession, Hendry, head of Miami-based apartment company Tzadik Properties, snapped up South Florida units. Since then, Florida property values have soared, and Hendry has turned into a seller.

Biscayne Gardens incorporation comes to a head

Zero hour has arrived in Biscayne Gardens, population 34,800. The first clue is the proliferating red-and-white signs: “Vote NO Incorporation. Keep Your Taxes & Rent Low.” More are scheduled to come in Spanish and Haitian Creole. The matter will come before the county commission on Sept. 1, which could then decide whether to put incorporation before the…

Conversions from offices to life science labs booming

While the office market grapples with the Delta variant, life science labs are enjoying a boom. In fact, many new labs are actually conversions from offices. The life science industry saw record investments in North America last year, bringing in $70 billion of capital investments. In six large industry markets, 20 percent of laboratory spaces being constructed…

Florida Freezer Inks New 85,000-SF Lease At Southeast Frozen Foods Building

In a strategy to expand into the Southeast Florida market, Florida Freezer has signed on for 84,993 square feet at the Southeast Frozen Foods building located at 18770 NE 6 Avenue in Miami. JC Conte, SIOR and Brian T. Ahearn, CCIM, with Butters Realty & Management Industrial Brokerage Team represented Florida Freezer in the deal…

Snow Real Estate buys Sunrise apartments for $15M

Snow Real Estate bought the Golfview Flats apartment complex in Sunrise for $15 million. Hollywood-based Snow Real Estate, through an affiliate, bought the property at 8445 Springtree Drive from Ortsac Capital Group, based in Fort Lauderdale, according to a news release. Snow Real Estate took out a $12.8 million loan to finance the purchase from New York City…

Landlords sue federal gov’t over rental losses during CDC eviction ban

In three days, the federal ban on evictions is set to expire, allowing landlords in most states to take non-paying tenants to court. But property owners say they deserve more than the freedom to join a backlogged docket. They want money. The National Apartment Association, a landlord group, filed a lawsuit in federal claims court Tuesday demanding that…

Black Lion buys SLS Lux Brickell retail condo, former Katsuya location, for $14M

Black Lion Investment Group bought a retail condo at the SLS Lux Brickell for $13.5 million. The Los Angeles-based commercial real estate and investment firm bought the unit that was formerly the site of Katsuya sushi restaurant and SBar, according to a press release from the brokers. Jorge Pérez’s Related Group, which co-developed the SLS Lux Brickell at 805…

Two of Florida’s Biggest Developers Team Up To Develop 28 Acres In Hialeah

Two of Miami’s biggest developers are teaming up on a 642-unit multifamily project on 28 acres. Related Group and Fontainebleau Development broke ground Monday on Las Carreras, a garden-style rental community in Hialeah at 7218 West Fourth Ave. The new project will bring luxury touches to what has traditionally been a working-class enclave. The project is the…

Renaissance Properties sells Aventura office complex for $140M

Renaissance Properties NY sold the Aventura Corporate Center for $140 million to a New York-based investment group that plans to build an addition, The Real Deal has learned. New York-based Renaissance, led by Kenneth, Bradley and Robert Fishel, sold the three Class A office buildings and garages at 20801, 20803 and 20807 Biscayne Boulevard to Aventura…

Commercial property sales outpace pre-pandemic figures in Q2

Commercial property sales are broadly rebounding to pre-pandemic levels across the country, though the same success isn’t being seen in select markets that dominated before the pandemic. Investors spent $144.7 billion on commercial property during the second quarter, nearly three-times the amount recorded in the same period last year, the Wall Street Journal…

Jared Kushner Plans to Open Investment Firm in Miami, Israel

Jared Kushner plans to open a Miami-based investment company with an office in Israel later this year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The son-in-law to former President Donald Trump is in the final stages of starting the investment office, called Affinity Partners, Reuters and the Jerusalem Post reported earlier Wednesday, citing sources they didn’t…

Miami Office Rent Growth Influenced by Influx of Tech Firms, New Capital Sources

The past year has been a long and winding ride, and some unexpected trends have been taking place in the Miami office market, between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and through its recovery to date. Logically, one would expect that an ongoing pandemic keeping corporate offices closed and employees working from home would negatively affect…

Miami Market Update: Office Pipeline Growth Stalls

By mid-2021, Miami had 2.5 million square feet of office space under construction, according to CommercialEdge data. This amount accounted for 3.7 percent of total stock, placing the metro above the national average of 2.4 percent. June’s findings represent a 2 percent dip month-over-month, signaling the first halt in the metro’s constant pipeline growth since…

Miami’s Link at Douglas: Targeting the Top in Urban Living

South Florida, together with Arizona and Texas, has grown as an attractive alternative for New York City and Silicon Valley companies looking to relocate to more business-friendly markets. Miami in particular has garnered a lot of attention, as local authorities launched several programs offering economic incentives for businesses to relocate or open offices…

Neology Life Lands $52M Refi for Miami Luxury Community

Neology Life has received a $52 million refinancing deal for Pier 19 Residences and Marina, a 199-unit multifamily tower in the Miami River District at 1951 NW S River Drive. Berkadia arranged the two-year bridge loan provided by LoanCore Capital. The financing package included floating rates and a one-year extension at a 72 percent loan-to-value ratio. Neology…

Berkadia Secures $52M Refinancing for Pier 19 Residences & Marina in Miami

Berkadia has secured a $52 million bridge loan to refinance Pier 19 Residences & Marina, a 199-unit apartment community along Miami River. Charles Foschini and Christopher Apone of Berkadia secured the financing on behalf of the sponsor, Neology Life Development Group, a Miami-based residential and commercial real estate firm. LoanCore Capital originated…

Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser submits 2021 Preliminary Certification of Taxable Values

The Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser Pedro J. Garcia has submitted the 2021 Preliminary Certification of Taxable Values to the taxing authorities, which continues to show an overall growth in property values despite the impact COVID-19 had on certain real estate markets. The countywide estimated taxable value for 2021 is $337,968,694,350…

Sam Zell’s Equity Residential reports recovery in rental occupancy

The pandemic hit the bottom line of Sam Zell’s Equity Residential pretty hard, but the worst is finally in the rear-view mirror, executives of the real estate investment trust said Wednesday. “We acknowledge how badly our operations declined over the last 16 months,” said Michael Manelis, the chief operating officer, during an earnings call. “But the current recovery…”

Unibail-Rodamco plans “radical reduction” of regional malls

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield will look to sell its regional malls in the U.S. as it struggles to recover from the pandemic’s brutal impact on the retail sector. The Paris-based mall giant and investment firm posted a $652.6 million companywide loss for the first half of the year, it said in an earnings call Wednesday. That total…

Covid surge, CDC reversal upends back-to-office plans

As the Delta variant fuels a nationwide surge in Covid cases, employers’ return-to-work plans are being thrown into a state of flux. Earlier this week, the CDC updated its public health recommendations, imploring the fully vaccinated to resume wearing masks indoors in “substantial or high-transmission” areas — classifications that currently…

Work-from-home threat “overstated,” Boston Properties CEO says

One of the nation’s largest office landlords isn’t worried about the rise of remote work. While the continued work-from-home trend will have a long-term impact on the office market, the threat is “overstated” for landlords of Class A office space, Boston Properties CEO Owen Thomas said Wednesday. “The market is concerned … We acknowledge that’s the case,” Thomas…

Mila restaurant to add entertainment venue on Lincoln Road

Restaurateur Gregory Galy and his partners won approval to add an entertainment venue to Mila on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. The Miami Beach Planning Board on Tuesday approved a permit for Mila to create a 7,352-square-foot nightlife venue on the second enclosed floor of the 800 Lincoln Road building. The Mila Membership Lounge plans to serve…

Too much of a good time? David Grutman and Pharrell’s Goodtime Hotel could lose entertainment permit

Hospitality mogul David Grutman and rapper and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams could use some good vibes for their Goodtime Hotel. The hotel, which opened at 601 Washington Avenue in April, is at risk of losing parts of its conditional use permit following nearly 30 noise violations. The Miami Beach Planning Board will hold a hearing over revoking the…

South Florida’s retail market slowly emerges from pandemic woes in Q2

South Florida’s retail market showed signs of recovery in the second quarter, with positive net absorption in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, and stabilizing vacancy rates throughout the region, according to a recently released report. Population growth is fueling a steady return of consumers to physical stores, restaurants and gyms…

South Florida by the numbers: Play ball; the Miami Marlins’ latest dealings

Corey Dickerson, Mike Piazza and Derek Jeter with the Miami baseball stadium (Getty) “South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics. Now that they have South Florida’s sports landscape all to themselves for a little while, this is an ideal opportunity to check in on the Miami Marlins’…

Complex public-private Miami administration building deal stumbles

A complex public-private partnership is apparently falling apart between the City of Miami and a developer that won a bid to build a multi-million-dollar project on the Miami River. Because the city is considering other…  moving ahead with its own standalone residential tower on its own land near the river, at 230 SW Third Street. By working for years on the city…

Stormy city commission can’t blow Rickenbacker Marina off course

The fate of the city-owned marinas on Virginia Key led to a long and loud shouting match between two Miami city commissioners. Once decorum was restored at the July 22 meeting, the end result was a split vote that advanced a ballot proposal designed to keep the current operators of Rickenbacker Marina – Biscayne Marine Partners LLC – in control of…

Miami’s waterfront parks reimagined

Two of the City of Miami’s newest and most popular parks would have been unrecognizable even 20 years ago. Maurice A. Ferré Park, downtown Miami’s direct connection with Biscayne Bay, and Regatta Park, bringing a lushly transformed waterfront to Coconut Grove, each have less than glamorous pasts. As the City of Miami celebrates its 125th Anniversary…

Churchill’s Pub operator evicted amid foreclosure lawsuits against landlord

Mallory Kauderer and Churchill’s Pub Churchill’s Pub, the storied live venue and bar in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood, could be gone for good after the property’s landlord secured a major victory in court last week. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Reemberto Diaz issued an eviction order and writ of possession against Churchill’s current tenant District Live Agency…

Family office buys South Beach short-term rental portfolio for $14M

Red Group sold a portfolio of short-term rental units in South Beach for $13.9 million to Daniell Group, a family office led by Avihai Daniell. Miami-based Red Group, led by co-founder and president ​​Gabriele Braha, sold the 20-unit building at 801, 807 and 815 Alton Road in Miami Beach, as well as the 18 condos at 1355-1357 Drexel Avenue, Braha said. New York-based…

Architect who designed the collapsed Surfside condo was previously suspended after toppling of other structures

The Florida State Board of architecture’s order to suspend William Friedman for six months More than a decade before William Friedman designed the collapsed Surfside condominium, Florida’s board of architecture suspended him for six months for designing structures that toppled during Hurricane Betsy. Sign pylons that were “an integral part…”

3 Warehouse Types for E-Commerce Distribution

Let’s face it: nomenclature around warehouse facilities can be confusing. Is it an industrial property, a warehouse, a fulfillment center, a distribution building or something else? Further complicating the issue is that the response to that question can often be “all of the above,” leaving the inquirer even more perplexed. To begin to sort this out, LoopNet spoke…

Instacart to build fulfillment centers near supermarkets

Instacart is the latest company seeking to cash in on the industrial real estate boom, making plans to build its own fulfillment centers for supermarkets. The grocery delivery company will begin developing an undetermined number of fulfillment centers over the next year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The centers would be able to hold between…

Raging wildfires threaten lumber market, home builders’ costs

Just as lumber prices were finally falling, wildfires and extreme weather are threatening to pull them right back up. Fires raging in the western United States are beginning to have a negative impact on lumber output. Canfor, one of the biggest lumber producers on the continent, is among the companies cutting back production in response to the weather events…

Blackstone eyes return to hotel business as real estate fuels strong Q2

Blackstone backed out of hotels in the nick of time. “It wasn’t because we anticipated the pandemic,” said president Jonathan Gray on the firm’s Q2 earnings call Thursday. Rather, the investment giant saw greater promise in the rental housing, life sciences and industrial buildings it picked up in the past year — investments that helped it nearly double its distributable…

Miami office vacancy rates reach Great Recession levels

Office vacancy rates in Miami-Dade County are hitting highs not seen since the Great Recession, according to a pair of recent market reports. A June report by the Commercial Industrial Association of South Florida, or CIASF, found that the vacancy rate for Class A office space jumped above 20 percent in the first quarter, a height not seen since the last building…

New buyer aboard: Brightline parent sells sites near Fort Lauderdale station

Florida East Coast Industries sold two development sites near its Fort Lauderdale Brightline station for $37.2 million. FLL Andrews Development and FLL Flagler Development sold the assemblages at 130 Northwest First Avenue and 117 Northwest Second Street for $17.6 million and $19.6 million, respectively. The buyers’ entities, N Andrews Ave Development…

Former Fort Lauderdale church site to be reborn with offices, retail

A boarded up, gable-roofed former church site in Fort Lauderdale will be resurrected with bars, restaurants, retail and offices. Miami-based developer Wellmeaning Properties plans to reinvent the closed Fourth Avenue Church of God property at 1237 Northeast Fourth Avenue into the Canopî project, according to a news release. Jaime Sturgis and Kaley…

Grover Corlew buys Bank of America Tower in Boca Raton for $45M

Boca Raton investment management firm Grover Corlew purchased an office building in its backyard for $44.6 million. Black Creek Group sold the Bank of America Tower, an eight-story, 109,500-square-foot Class A building at 150 East Palmetto Road to Grover Corlew, according to a press release. The property’s tenants include Charles Schwab and Waypoint Residential…

Class A Office Building In Boca Fetches $99.5 Million

KBS assisted in the acquisition of One Town Center, a 191,294 square-foot Class A office building in Boca Raton. The property was acquired from a joint venture between prominent commercial real estate firm CP Group, formerly Crocker Partners, and Siguler Guff & Co. for $99.5 million by Prime US REIT (PRIME), which trades on the Singapore Exchange Securities…

Opterra Capital buys Holiday Inn & Suites Boca Raton for $13M

Opterra Capital bought a Boca Raton Holiday Inn for $13.3 million. Records show Opterra, through an affiliate, bought the Holiday Inn & Suites at 701 Northwest 53rd Street from FLL Resorts, which is linked to Archer Capital Group. The price reflects only the building, with the true deal value being $17.6 million, inclusive of the land and furniture…

Walton Street Capital buys Boynton Beach apartments for $93M

Walton Street Capital bought the Pacifica Boynton Beach apartment complex for $92.7 million. Records show Walton Street, through an affiliate, bought the property at 1100 Audace Avenue from Miami-based Alta Developers. The deal breaks down to $286,034 per unit. The 324-unit complex consists of several buildings completed in 2019 and 2020…

Prayers answered? Related Companies closes on church site for planned office tower in downtown West Palm

The Related Companies closed on the site of a planned 25-story office tower in downtown West Palm Beach, marking progress for a project that is years in the making. The First Church of Christ, Scientist in West Palm sold the property at 134 and 142 Lakeview Avenue and 809 South Flagler Drive to Related’s RUD 1 Flagler LLC for $20.1 million, records show. The sale…

Publix pays $9M for Westlake site in Palm Beach County

Publix paid $9.1 million for the 20-acre site of a planned retail center and grocery store in Westlake, the massive master-planned community in western Palm Beach County. Records show Westlake master developer Minto Communities, through its Minto PBLH LLC, sold the property at 5075 Seminole Pratt Whitney Road to Publix Super Markets. The Lakeland-base…

Fort Partners buys Four Seasons Brickell hotel for $130M

The developer of the ultra-luxury Four Seasons at the Surf Club in Surfside acquired the Four Seasons Miami hotel in Brickell for about $130 million, The Real Deal has learned. The acquisition gives Fort Partners control of all four Four Seasons properties in South Florida, including in Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The 221-key hotel at 1435 Brickell Avenue in Miami is…

Madison Realty Capital Provides $105M Acquisition Loan for Four Seasons Hotel Miami

Madison Realty Capital, a New York City-based private real estate equity firm, has provided a $105 million loan to Miami-based developer Fort Partners for the acquisition and renovation of the Four Seasons Hotel Miami located in the city’s Brickell district. Located at 1435 Brickell Ave., Four Seasons Hotel Miami is a 221-room hotel that anchors a 70-story…

Video: Costar Director of Market Analytics David Kahn Discusses Office Forecast

David Kahn, Director of Market Analytics with CoStar, a leading provider of information, analytics and marketing services to the commercial property industry, joins America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss the office market. Included in the discussion are rent growth, performance, vacancy, cap rates, trends and opportunities. Much of the conversation…

One of the largest Wynwood projects to bring 523 residences

One of the largest mixed-use residential and office projects ever proposed for the Wynwood Arts District will bring 12- and 8-story buildings with 523 residences to the neighborhood and more than 950,000 square feet of floor uses. L&L Carpe Wynwood Holdings LLC is the owner-developer of the project called 29N Wynwood, to rise at 95 NW 29th St. The project…

AMLI Wynwood, 550,000-sf mixed-use residential development, breaks ground

AMLI Residential recently broke ground on its 550,000-square-foot, mixed-use Wynwood development at 70 NW 25 St. The eight-story building is designed by Arquitectonica, an award-winning global architecture firm based in Miami, which also is the design team behind innovative building projects such as the Brickell City Centre, FTX Arena and the South…

Miami Market Update: Office Vacancy Slides

Despite constantly expanding its development pipeline since the onset of the year, Miami’s office vacancy has been contracting during 2021, CommercialEdge data shows. The metro’s business-friendly environment and favorable tax climate continues to attract investor interest from other parts of the country. As of May, the market’s vacancy rate hit 14.8 percent…

Beach Towing buys Sunset Harbour property for $7M

Beach Towing paid $6.5 million for the Miami Beach property where it has been based for 35 years. The car storage and towing company bought the building and parking lot at 1349 Dade Boulevard in Sunset Harbour from the Festa Family Trust, according to a news release. Mika Mattingly and Cecilia Estevez of Colliers represented the seller. Attorney Eric Gonzalez..

Rotem Rosen scores legal win against Alex Sapir

Rotem Rosen just scored a legal victory in an ongoing lawsuit with Alex Sapir, his former brother-in-law. Rosen asserts he is owed $102.9 million from the estate of Sapir Organization founder Tamir Sapir, who died in 2014. Last week, a judge ruled that Alex Sapir, a son of Tamir, must put $55.5 million in escrow while the dispute is being decided, according…

Four landlords allegedly pushed out 5,000 renters during moratorium

A House select subcommittee is hot on the trail of four landlords allegedly responsible for forcing out 5,000 renters during the CDC’s eviction moratorium. The subcommittee is asking for documents from Invitation Homes, Pretium Partners, Ventron Management and the Siegel Group about their recent eviction practices. Letters to the companies were sent…

CareRite Centers buys south Miami-Dade nursing facility for $35M

CareRite Centers bought a nursing home and rehabilitation facility in south Miami-Dade County for $35 million. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey-based CareRite, through an affiliate, bought the property at 9869 Southwest 152nd Street, records show. The buyer borrowed $30.1 million from VNB New York. Seller Del Sol Realty Holding is managed by Michael Silberberg.

Inside the tug-of-war over the Surfside condo site’s future

Steve Rosenthal loved living along the beach, chatting with his neighbors by his condominium’s pool, having everything he needed just a short walk or drive away. That was his life at Champlain Towers South in Surfside. Rosenthal lost many of his friends when the majority of the 12-story condominium collapsed last month, killing at least 97 people. He was…

Democrats look to curtail tax break for “pass-through” businesses

A tax break beneficial to “pass through” businesses — including real estate trusts — is in the crosshairs of congressional Democrats. On Tuesday, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee, led by chairman Ron Wyden, will unveil a measure that targets the 20 percent deduction granted to such businesses, which also include law firms and family farms, according to…

Kite Realty to acquire Retail Properties of America for nearly $3B

Kite Realty Group has agreed to pay $2.79 billion to add rival Retail Properties of America to its open-air shopping center portfolio, making the real estate investment trust the nation’s fifth-largest and giving it cheaper access to capital for expansion. If shareholders approve the deal, Oak Brook, Illinois-based Retail Properties of America will become a…

Miami Hotel Rebound: ‘We’re Blowing 2019 Out Of The Water’

The recovery of South Florida’s hotel industry is stronger than anyone could have imagined in March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic was bearing down on the world. Nationwide, Miami had the largest growth in average daily room rates (up 44.7% to $225.14) and revenue per available room, or RevPAR, (up 30.7% to $152.45), hotel data collector STR said in a report…

Employees revolt against return-to-office edicts

Momentum for a broad return to the workplace this summer is fizzling in the face of uprisings from employees reluctant to assume the risks of office life — or surrender the perks of working from home. More than seven in 10 office workers were still working remotely as of May, according to a Gallup study, and two-thirds of them want it to stay that way. In what some…

Setai Miami Beach owners and condo association sue city over Bulgari hotel height increase

The Setai Miami Beach’s owners and condominium association are seeking to upend the redevelopment of a neighboring property that is slated to become Bulgari’s first hotel on U.S. soil. Setai Hotel Acquisition LLC, an entity owned by the Nakash family of Jordache Jeans fame, and the Setai Resort and Residences Condominium Association on July 6 sued the city…

Apparel company Exist inks 142K sf lease in Miami Gardens, other leasing news

Gateway Commerce Park in Miami Gardens Apparel and fashion company Exist Inc. signed a long-term, 142,191-square-foot lease at Gateway Commerce Park, at 1722 Northwest 215th Street in Miami Gardens. Brian Smith, Audley Bosch and Matt Maciag with JLL represented the landlord, EastGroup Properties, in the deal, while CBRE’s Larry Genet and Tom…

Contract killers: Construction disputes spell disaster for projects

Days before the opening of New York City’s second-tallest building, workers in Navillus T-shirts scurried around the construction site. Their presence at SL Green’s trophy project, One Vanderbilt, raised eyebrows: Two months earlier, the concrete contractor’s CEO had been arrested on fraud charges. And before that, SL Green had fired Navillus, fearing it was going bankrupt.

Work may finally restore Irma-battered Dinner Key Marina

It’s been nearly four years since Hurricane Irma ravaged Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove, walloping the state’s largest municipal marina. A final round of repairs is still needed to bring Dinner Key back to its former glory. Today (7/22), Miami commissioners are to consider approval of a final contract with Kearns Construction Co. to repair the city-owned marina.

Miami-Dade office vacancies highest in 8 years

Florida’s economy is fourth-best in the nation in bouncing back from the plunge during the pandemic, but Miami-Dade’s office vacancy rates are also the highest they have been in eight years, at 16.9%. Even though vacancy has grown, so have newly signed leasing rates, by 8.6% since mid-year of 2020 and by 13.3% since the beginning of the pandemic. Although there…

Berkadia arranges $52 million recapitalization for Neology Life’s Pier 19 Residences & Marina in Miami River District

Berkadia announces it has secured a $52 million bridge loan to refinance Pier 19 Residences & Marina, a 199-unit luxury apartment community along the Miami River in downtown Miami. Senior Managing Director Charles Foschini and Managing Director Christopher Apone of Berkadia Miami secured the financing on behalf of sponsor Neology Life Development…

Miami Industrial Real Estate Quarterly Market Report 2nd 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 The Miami industrial market’s Q2 vacancy rate was 3.9% at the close of the quarter with a $13.78 per sq. ft. average (gross) lease rate. Industrial vacancies have compressed after reaching higher levels in 2020.

Experts Believe a Retail Property Surge Is Coming

The latest forecast for the U.S. retail property market over the next few years is looking bullish, with the industry buoyed by a strong and fast-growing economy, pent-up consumer demand because of the pandemic, and the desire for shoppers to connect with a human. A panel of executives from brokerage JLL presented their first webinar update on retail…

PMG pays nearly $60M for Johnson & Wales North Miami campus

The Johnson and Wales campus and PMG principals Kevin Maloney and Ryan Shear (PMG) Property Markets Group closed on its purchase of Johnson and Wales’ North Miami campus. CBRE’s David Wigoda, which marketed and sold the 25-acre site, said PMG paid just under $60 million for the campus. “It was in the high 50s,” Wigoda said. Spokespersons for…

Surfside condo developer faced legal trouble in Canada, found clean slate in South Florida

As Nathan Reiber faced tax evasion charges and possible disbarment in Canada in the 1980s, he was already basking in a life of luxury in Miami Beach. A few years earlier, Reiber started a new chapter as a prominent real estate investor and benefactor to the Jewish community and the arts, rubbing shoulders at posh fundraisers with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor.

Gordon Ramsay to open first South Florida restaurant in Miami Beach

Gordon Ramsay is taking his talents to South Beach. The celebrity chef, known for his reality show “Hell’s Kitchen,” signed a lease for a restaurant in the South-of-Fifth neighborhood, The Real Deal has learned. He will be opening a Lucky Cat restaurant at the Yukon building, at 119 Washington Avenue, according to sources. Lucky Cat is taking a 9,000-square-foot…

“Too much money and no guardrails:” WeWork book authors on the collapse

Whenever Eliot Brown heard another wild Adam Neumann anecdote, he’d tell his editor. And the response would be: “Why are you not working on a profile of him again?” So Brown, armed with a perma-smirk and a background in real estate reporting, started gathering string. There was plenty to go around. Even in an era of Silicon Valley excess, Neumann…

The last mile-high club: Brokers adapt to a booming industrial market

Brian Thene was looking to break into commercial brokerage at the beginning of 2020. After spending a few years working in sustainability and corporate solutions at Cushman & Wakefield, he wanted to be a dealmaker. He cast a wide net, trying his luck in several aspects of commercial brokerage, from office to retail to multifamily. In February…

Terreno Realty Corporation Acquires Property In Hialeah For $39.4 Million

Terreno Realty Corporation, an acquirer, owner and operator of industrial real estate in six major coastal U.S. markets, acquired an industrial property in Hialeah on July 14 for a purchase price of approximately $39.4 million… at 4151 West 108th Street, immediately adjacent to Terreno Realty Corporation’s buildings at 4021-4071 West 108th Street and adjacent to…

Sovereign wealth funds are hunting for resi & industrial real estate

Sovereign wealth funds and central banks are looking to capitalize on post-pandemic real estate investment opportunities, following a brief pullback last year. Nearly three quarters of industry respondents to an Invesco survey believe the pandemic-fueled price fall in valuations will drive property purchases, according to IPE Real Assets. Participants in the…

Oceanfront Miami Beach condo La Costa ordered evacuated following bulk buyout deal

An oceanfront Miami Beach condo building that recently sold in a bulk buyout deal to developer Mast Capital is declared unsafe by the city and ordered evacuated by mid-August, The Real Deal has learned. Residents of the 124-unit La Costa building at 5333 Collins Avenue have until Aug. 16 to vacate the property, according to a photo of a notice obtained by TRD…

Here’s what Mast Capital plans for La Costa’s evacuated, oceanfront Miami Beach site

Renderings of 5333 Collins Avenue with Mast Capital’s Camilo Miguel Jr Developer Mast Capital wants to build a 100-unit luxury tower on the site of an oceanfront condo building that was ordered evacuated by the city of Miami Beach, The Real Deal has learned. An affiliate of Mast Capital purchased nearly 90 percent of the condos at La Costa at 5333 Collins…

Lightstone pays $20M for Miami Gardens warehouse leased to Moishe Mana

Real estate investor Lightstone paid $20 million for a Miami Gardens warehouse leased to one of Moishe Mana’s companies. Records show Lightstone, based in New York City, bought the property at 15801 Northwest 49th Avenue from Warehomes Precision. Mana, best known for his Wynwood property and long-planned downtown Miami project, houses…

Blackstone buys $5.1B in affordable housing from AIG

Blackstone and AIG have agreed to a massive deal involving the sale of $5.1 billion in affordable housing assets. AIG sold the assets to Blackstone as part of a “long-term strategic asset management relationship” between the two companies, Bloomberg News reported. Blackstone has been pursuing lower-cost rentals to boost its real estate arm, according to the publication.

Foundry Commercial Acquires Doral Industrial Park

Berkadia has arranged $14.1 million in acquisition financing on behalf of Foundry Commercial for the acquisition of America’s International Center, a 147,000-square-foot industrial park in Doral. Managing Directors Michael Weinberg and Rebecca Van Reken along with Associate Director Alec Fox of Berkadia Orlando secured the non-recourse…

The Fed: Though Easing, COVID Still Exerts Force on Region’s Economy

Pandemic-related forces continued to shape the southeastern economy in late May and June, as firms scrambled to fill job openings and competition for talent pushed up wages, according to the new Beige Book report on regional economic activity from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. As some companies reported offering more flexible schedules and wage…

Yacht Haven Park & Marina in Fort Lauderdale sells for $58M

The 20-acre Yacht Haven Park & Marina in Fort Lauderdale is poised for a makeover and additional storage after selling for $58.1 million, with the buyers scoring an $81.7 million purchase and renovation loan. Fort Lauderdale Motorcoach Resort and Yacht Club, with operating sponsors Gary Cioffi and Christopher Hein of Long Island, New York, bought…

Frankforter Group buys Pompano Beach apartments for $43M

Frankforter Group bought a Pompano Beach apartment building for $42.9 million. The Montreal-based real estate investor and asset manager bought Avery Pompano Beach at 275 North Federal Highway from an affiliate of Aventura-based Meyers Group, records show. The buyer borrowed $35.4 million from Arbor Realty SR, an affiliate of Uniondale, New…

Pebb Enterprises buys Boca Raton office building for $15M

Pebb Enterprises bought a Boca Raton office building for $14.52 million and fully leased it, as it continues to invest in the area. Pebb bought the property at 5900 Northwest Broken Sound Parkway at the Park at Broken Sound business park, according to a news release. Seller 5900 Broken Sound LLC is managed by Dennis Lynde, records show. It bought the property for…

MG3 Group buys Doral offices for $96 million

MG3 REIT bought the Doral Concourse office building for $96 million. The real estate investment trust bought the property at 8400 Northwest 36th Street from a fund managed by DRA Advisors, according to a news release from the seller’s broker. Christian Lee and José Lobón of CBRE represented the DRA Advisors-managed fund. The six-story, 240,669-square-foot…

Miami Multifamily Report – Summer 2021

South Florida’s rental market showed strong signs of recovery in the first four months of the year, steadily rebounding from the pandemic. Miami led gateway markets with 0.8 percent rent growth on a trailing three-month basis through April, with Chicago (0.5 percent) and Boston (0.4 percent) also showing solid gains. Miami’s unemployment rate has improved steadily…

Dental clinic buys distressed Coral Gables office building for $7M

Elvis Mons must be smiling: His cosmetic dental clinic bought a distressed Coral Gables office building for $6.6 million. Dental Design Smile bought the nearly vacant property at 3195 Ponce De Leon Boulevard, with plans to renovate it and consolidate all of its current locations there, according to the clinic’s brokers. Leste Group, an alternative investment platform…

Related Companies, CareMax to open 75 senior health centers

A new partnership between Related Companies and CareMax promises to shape the future of senior health care in underserved communities — and, they hope, make some money in the process. Related is acquiring a 9 percent stake in CareMax as the companies work together to develop about 75 senior health centers over three years across urban communities…

Top 5 Office Projects Under Construction in Miami

More than 3.5 million square feet of office space was under construction in the Miami metro as of May, according to CommercialEdge data. Development activity was concentrated in the Miami North submarket, where nearly one million square feet of office space was underway. Some of the largest buildings include new headquarters or corporate expansions…

Inside Wynwood’s Burgeoning Office Market

The former industrial district’s rezoning unlocked its full potential, making it a Miami household name that attracts companies from all over the U.S. But the district’s revitalization seems to have been set off in 2005 by the groundbreaking of a large-scale mixed-use development dubbed Midtown Miami. Situated across the Edgewater and Wynwood neighborhoo…d

Altman Cos. Tops Off Miami Luxury Apartments Altis Ludlum Trail

Altís Ludlam Trail, a 312-unit luxury community in Miami, has topped off. The Altman Cos. is developing the project in a partnership with MV Real Estate Holdings and The Mattoni Group. The joint venture secured financing for the project in June 2020 when Comerica Bank provided a $55.4 million construction loan. According to Yardi Matrix, completion…

Mill Creek Residential Begins Construction of Downtown Miami Community

Mill Creek Residential has started construction on a 97-unit apartment community in downtown Miami that will go along with a 166-unit community that the company acquired in 2018. Modera Skylar Phase II, which broke ground in February, will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units with den layouts available. The units will be built with private…

Starwood bailing on the mall business

Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group is moving away from its mall portfolio as values on the properties continue to plunge. The investment firm has been selling off shopping centers at a loss across the United States, Bloomberg News reported. While Starwood owned 30 malls before the pandemic, it is now down to eight — and those are being run by…

Estate Companies sells Palmetto Bay apartment complex for $58M

The Estate Companies sold its Palmetto Bay apartment complex for $58.2 million. The South Miami-based developer, though an affiliate, sold Soleste Bay Village at 18301 South Dixie Highway to Westdale Real Estate Investment and Management, according to Neyda Bravo, a broker on the deal. Bravo worked with Luis Gonzalez, both of Bravo & Partners…

Bulk warehouse rent surges 13% in a year as industrial boom powers on

While commercial real estate vacancies persist, the warehouse boom is still going strong. A CBRE analysis found that from January through May, first-year base rents on leases of a year or more rose by 9.7 percent year-over-year, CNBC reported. Large warehouses have seen even sharper rent growth — 13.2 percent for leases of 500,000 square feet or more…

Miami Beach sees pedestrian future for Ocean Drive

Miami Beach has applied for a county permit to keep Ocean Drive pedestrianized, but the short-term future of the iconic road is still up for debate. In May 2020 the county approved temporary closure of Ocean Drive to vehicular traffic, Miami Today reported, and a final configuration will be explored as part of the Art Deco Cultural District preliminary concept…

Voters to rule on Virginia Key marina lease without bids

Miami City Commissioners have asked the legal department to prepare wording for a ballot question that would ask voters if the long-time tenant for Virginia Key should have its lease extended. The 3-2 vote, with Manolo Reyes and Alex Diaz de la Portilla opposed, came after a long and sometimes contentious discussion on the steps taken so far for the…

Wynwood OKs unique public-private deal

A unique public-private partnership has assembled and will bring an apartment building to Wynwood’s southeastern corner devoted entirely to affordable rental units, atop ground floor retail. Wynwood Works…. to redevelop the property at 2035, 2037 and 2043 N Miami Avenue. The project was approved Monday by the Wynwood Design Review Committee…

North Beach apartment building deemed unsafe, ordered evacuated

Miami Beach deemed Devon Apartments at 6881 Indian Creek Drive unsafe and issued an order to evacuate on Monday, according to an attorney representing the building’s landlords and the city’s spokesperson. Manny J. Vadillo, the attorney representing 6881 Indian Creek LLC, told The Real Deal that the 14 residents who remain will be given a week to find alternative…

Surfside condo collapse prompts industry changes

The rest of Champlain Towers South is demolished in Surfside, Florida,north of Miami Beach, late on July 4. Raysa Rodriguez, 59, described the moment she was awakened by the collapsing northeast portion of her Surfside condo building, home to more than 50 units. The tower “swayed like a sheet of paper,” Rodriguez said, according to a lawsuit filed on…

Mexican firm Zentrix Industries buys former Related Group downtown Miami HQ for $24 million

Related CEO Jorge Pérez, President Jon Paul Pérez and the waterfront property (Related, CBRE) The Related Group sold its former downtown Miami headquarters for $24.1 million. Jorge Pérez’s Related, known as the most prolific South Florida condo developer, sold the building at 315 South Biscayne Boulevard to Mexican apparel group Zentrix Industries…

Doral Vice Mayor Calls For Review Of Projects Tied To Former Surfside Building Official

There is increased scrutiny on a building official who concluded the Surfside condo was sound years before it came down, and now, other projects tied to that official are under review. Vice Mayor Pete Cabrera wants a special meeting to review any project Ross Prieto was involved with in the City of Doral. Prieto used…

Notable Retail Leases Signed in South Florida Q1 2021

South Florida Retail Real Estate Leases 2020 – 2021 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…

Wynwood apartment tower in an Opportunity Zone scores $38 million construction loan

TSG, Lineare Group and Bridge Investment Group scored a nearly $38 million construction loan for a multifamily project in an Opportunity Zone in Wynwood. Bank OZK is the lender for Wynwood Haus, a 224-unit building under construction at 1765 North Miami Avenue, according to the development group and property record…

Stephen Bittel’s Terranova buys former Miracle Mile California Pizza Kitchen location in Coral Gables

Stephen Bittel of Terranova and 300 Miracle Mile Terranova expanded its holdings on Coral Gables’ Miracle Mile. The Miami Beach-based real estate firm, led by Stephen Bittel, paid $6 million for the corner property at 300 Miracle Mile, previously home to California Pizza Kitchen, Bittel said. It marks the 12th property Terranova owns on the retail street and the…

KKR shatters CRE lending record as construction, borrower demand pick up

The year’s only half over, but KKR & Co. has already broken a personal record. The private equity giant has committed to $8 billion in commercial property loans so far this year, Bloomberg reported, more than doubling its previous full-year record of $3.1 billion, set in 2019. Such gains come at a time when construction is picking back up and so is demand for new…

Why residential rent will rise by 2.8% this year

The white-hot housing market is now heating up the rental market too. Nationally, the average effective rent is expected to increase 2.8 percent this year to $1,451, according to a Marcus & Millichap report. Experts say as high home prices have made ownership inaccessible for many Americans, more have resorted to renting. In turn, the increased demand has led…

All About 40 Year Recertification Inspections for Commercial Properties

If you own any South Florida real estate, there’s something important that you need to know about commercial properties: the 40-year recertification requirement. In Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, all buildings which are 40 years old from the date of the original Certification of Occupancy must be recertified by the Building Official every 10 years to ensure they are…

Developer Proposes 850K Square Feet Of Warehouses Outside Miami-Dade Urban Development Boundary

Developers want to expand the urban development boundary in western Miami-Dade County by 41.2 acres to build an industrial park. Terra137 LLC, owned by German Blanco Romero and Eva Maritza Blanco, and Boca Raton resident Ana Bigott filed a comprehensive development master plan (CDMP) application to expand the UDB and create an industrial district…

Moishe Mana expands downtown Miami assemblage with $12 million purchase

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pandemic fueled record business openings wave in Miami

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

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

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

Miami may forgive millions in Jungle Island debt

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

Venetian, Rickenbacker Causeway redevelopment sought

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

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

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

Restaurant aid runs dry, leaving most applicants with nothing

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

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

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

CP Group JV Buys 1 Million Square Feet Miami Tower

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

$4.8M Sale of Coral Way Medical Office Property Brokered

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

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

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

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

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

Lumber prices are splintering, futures drop 40% in June

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

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

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

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

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

FBE buys Lauderhill apartment complex for $95M

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

Crow Holdings buys Delray Beach apartments for $112M

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

Pebb Enterprises buys Boca Raton office building for $18M

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Details emerge in search for cause of fatal Surfside condo collapse

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

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

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

Photos: Devastation at Champlain Tower South

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

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

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

First lawsuit filed in deadly Surfside condo collapse

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

After Miami Collapse: How to Prevent the Unthinkable

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

Miami CRE On What Condo Collapse Means For The Market

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

Supreme Court declines to lift CDC eviction ban

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

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

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

JV Acquires Downtown Miami Office Tower

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

Developer Jeff Berkowitz cancels plans for SkyRise Miami observation tower

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

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

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

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

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

Opening of Jackson West in Doral finally firm

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

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

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

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

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

UBS Group going hybrid as workers return

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Downtown Miami Mixed-Use Development Site Commands $46M

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

Fifty former Sears stores go to market

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

Biden extends CDC eviction moratorium one more time

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

Brookfield pays $26M for Doral warehouse

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

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

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

Doral Bans Gambling Amid Trump-Owned Casino Prospects

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

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

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

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

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

KPC Properties buys Plantation apartment complex for $46M

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

Batmasians buy Deerfield Beach multifamily complex for $46M

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

Avanti buys Boynton Beach apartments for $105M

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

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

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

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

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

Billionaire Teaming Up With Sidewalk Labs On Miami Development

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

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

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

Miami Market Update: Office Transaction Activity Picks Up Pace

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

Kleber Discusses Miami’s Office Boom

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Office investors Tishman Speyer, Brookfield put money where mouth is

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

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

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

Mall landlords turn to pop-up stores to boost revenue

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

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

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

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

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

Major Mexico investment firm to open in Miami

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

Economists agree inflation may hit 5.5% this year

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Terra paid $32M for Bay Harbor Islands development site

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chart: Miami-Dade Commercial Real Estate Sales May 2021

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

Software firm Chetu buys Sunrise office property for $25M

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

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

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

Harbor Group Sells Pembroke Pines Apartment Community for $223M

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

Pebblebrook Buying Florida Margaritaville Resort For $270M

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

Pebblebrook buying Margaritaville Hollywood Beach for $270M

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

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

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

Furniture wholesaler pays $9 million for Hollywood distribution facility

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