Aug 02, 2023 - 0 Comments - Top Stories -

Miami Commercial Real Estate News August 2, 2023: Miami Retail Rent Growth Leads Nation; $190M Loan Secured for Raleigh Hotel Reno; Brickell Tower Replacement Proposed; More…

Pre-App Filed Last Year For 61-Story Worldcenter Towers With Skybridge

A pre-application for twin 61-story towers at Miami Worldcenter connected by skybridge was filed in 2022, city records show. A pre-application meeting took place last year, the records show. The project was proposed to include: 1,102 residential units amenities on levels 12, 13, 39 and 40 (the skybridge is on 39) approximately 60,000 square feet of ground floor retail…

Miami Retail Leads Nation In Rent Growth As Brands, Chefs Follow The Money

Miami retail vacancy is at 3.7%, 50 basis points below the national average of 4.2%, and the city leads all major U.S. markets in rent growth, rising 11.6% year-over-year to $42.40 per SF, according to a second-quarter report from Marcus & Millichap. The market “is exponentially better in terms of occupancy and rental rates than pre-pandemic. I think it’s just a different world…

Retail market softens in Palm Beach County, stays strong in Miami-Dade and Broward

South Florida’s retail market outlook this year appears bright with leasing and rents holding steady, though that’s until Palm Beach County enters the picture. It was the only county in the region to show signs of softening in the second quarter, with both leasing and asking rents slightly dropping while vacancies crept up, according to Colliers’ new reports. For one, Palm Beach net absorption…

Claim: Miami-Dade Population Shrank Between 2019 & 2022

Miami-Dade County’s population is claimed to have shrunk between 2019 and 2022, according to a report in the WSJ. It is the first population loss for Miami-Dade over a multi-year period since at least 1970, the WSJ wrote, citing the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Here’s how Miami-Dade’s population has changed in the past few years, according to Brookings Institution…

Industrial rents keep rising in South Florida

South Florida’s industrial market held steady for another consecutive quarter, and warehouse landlords are not easing up one bit. In Miami-Dade and Broward counties, asking rents jumped by double digits year-over-year, and Palm Beach County also experienced some rental growth in the industrial sector, according to a CBRE second quarter report. The rise in rents is largely…

Wynhouse Miami Now Under Construction, Will Have 308 Rental Residences

Wynhouse Miami is under construction, according to a press release from the developers. Developer Fisher Brothers obtained $117.5 million in financing to build the project, jointly provided by JP Morgan Chase and affiliates of Canyon Partners. Wynhouse is planned to rise eight stories and include: 308 rental residences approximately 26,000 square feet of ground floor retail…

Cronheim Hotel Capital Arranges $85M Refinancing of Grand Beach Hotel in Miami Beach

Cronheim Hotel Capital (CHC) has arranged an $85 million loan for the refinancing of Grand Beach Hotel, a 424-room hotel at 4835 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. The 21-story property is situated near the entrance to the Miami Beach boardwalk and one block from the Fontainebleau, a hotel/resort. The unnamed borrower, which developed the Grand Beach Hotel in 2009, is in the midst,,,

Landau Properties Closes on $29 Million Construction Loan for Indian Creek Residences & Yacht Club in Bay Harbor

Landau Properties, a real estate development firm based in New York and South Florida, today announced a significant construction loan for the upcoming Indian Creek Residences & Yacht Club on Miami’s Bay Harbor Islands. Landau Properties has closed on a $29 million construction financing package for the boutique residential property, which will…

Key International Envisions 51-Story Class-A Office Tower At 848 Brickell Avenue to Rise 761 Feet

Key International, a Miami-based real estate investment and development company, is planning a significant transformation at 848 Brickell Avenue, where they are headquartered. They intend to replace the 42-year-old 13-story office building with a much larger office tower. Miami-Dade County planners have received a pre-application meeting request from 848 Brickell, LLC…

29-Story Tower With Hundreds Of Micro-Units Proposed At Brickell’s Entrance

Plans have been filed with the county for a 29-story residential tower at the entrance to Brickell. The project appears to have been redesigned from an earlier proposal for the same lot. Miami’s UDRB review the project in April, when it was planned as a “meticulously designed” 24-story project. The property is being added to Miami-Dade’s Rapid Transit System Development Zone…

Citizens’ trust doubts county’s South Dade transit vows

The trust spending more than $100 million on a 20-mile Bus Rapid Transit line in South Dade questioned last week whether the project will ever meet its promises. The 15-member Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust that oversees use of the half-penny tax for transit said the county transportation department has kept it in the dark about operating plans for the South Dade corridor.

48-story St. Regis on Brickell wins an approval

A developer has gained unanimous support for a plan to construct a 48-story luxury condominium tower with 152 residential units and parking for 391 vehicles in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. Related Group proposes the new building, St. Regis Residences, at 1809 Brickell Ave., on Biscayne Bay. The city’s Urban Development Review Board recommended approval with one condition…

South Florida Industrial Activity Plummets Despite Continued Demand

South Florida’s industrial market has retreated from the smashed record of earlier in the pandemic, but the sector continues to see significant leasing activity and a tight inventory that are still pushing rents higher. There has been 4.1M SF of leasing activity across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties through the first half of 2023, according to second-quarter market reports…

Sergio Pino’s $84M deal to sell Miami apartment building falls apart

Sergio Pino allegedly torpedoed a deal to sell a Miami apartment building for $84.2 million over a parking garage snafu. Now Hollywood, California-based Trion Properties, which had planned to buy the property, is suing the Miami-based developer to reclaim a $1 million deposit. Pino’s entity that owns the six-story, 230-unit building at 850 Northwest 43rd Avenue is also named…

45 planned digital billboards spur downtown Miami residents’ concerns

An organization of Miami’s downtown residents is petitioning the city to throw out a proposal that would see the skyline illuminated with 45 new digital billboards. Last week, concerned citizens urged the Miami City Commission to vote against changes to the zoning code that would allow for digital murals. The item was deferred by the city manager until after the commission’s summer recess…

Massive signature bridge project builds to 2027 opening

In the heart of downtown Miami, the arches are rising. The distinctive and iconic Signature Bridge continues to reach upward as a key element of the I-395/SR 836/I-95 Design-Build Project. Overall project completion is now expected in late 2027. The sweeping construction work is from a partnership of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Miami-Dade…

$150 million replacement of Venetian Causeway bridges rolling

An ongoing project to replace 11 of the 12 bridges on the Venetian Causeway is in the design phase with construction expected to start in 2025 at a projected cost of about $150 million. Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works and the Florida Department of Transportation are working with partners to rebuild the aging bridges, nearing their 100th birthday.

Henry Bott: Heading Swire’s Brickell Key and Miami City Centre projects

In January, Henry Bott, who has been at Swire Properties for over 13 years representing the company’s Asian investments, was named president of the American arm. The company was established in Hong Kong in 1972 and it develops and manages top tier commercial, retail, hospitality, and residential properties. Swire Properties came to Florida in 1976, invested in Tampa, and in 1978…

Shvo Secures $190M Loan for The Raleigh Hotel & Residences, Miami Beach

Shvo, the ultra-luxury real estate development and investment firm, is pleased to announce it has successfully secured $190 million in new financing for The Raleigh, a significant milestone in the next chapter of Miami Beach’s most storied property. The loan, provided by BH3 Debt Opportunity Fund II, L.P. led by BH3 Management through its opportunistic credit platform…

Shvo scores $190M loan for Raleigh Miami Beach development

Developer Michael Shvo secured a $190 million refinance for the construction of Rosewood-branded Raleigh hotel and condo project in Miami Beach, adding to a handful of large loans condo developers…a. Shvo, Deutsche Finance and a group of German… redeveloping the Raleigh, South Seas and Richmond hotels at 1751, 1757 and 1775 Collins Avenue into…

Remy Jacobson’s Design District building heads to foreclosure auction

Remy Jacobson is about to lose his commercial building in Miami’s Design District at an upcoming foreclosure auction stemming from an unpaid eight-figure mortgage debt. On July 19, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Gina Beovides issued a final foreclosure judgment for $10.4 million, including $8.4 million in unpaid principal, in favor of Centennial Bank. The court sale has been set…

Pre-App Filed For 761-Foot Office Tower At 848 Brickell Designed By SOM

An office tower designed by one of the world’s top architecture firms is in planning at 848 Brickell Avenue. A pre-application for the project was filed with Miami-Dade County planners on July 28 (renderings were not included). According to a Letter of Intent attached to the filing, the new office tower at 848 Brickell will rise 51 stories, or 761 feet, and include: 704,000 square feet of Class A…

New Details On Mixed-Use Project Planned At Worldcenter

Miami planners are currently reviewing a proposal for a mixed-use project with two towers at Miami Worldcenter, plans filed with the city show. The property is known as Miami Worldcenter Block A, and is owned by Abbhi Capital. According to the most recent version of the plans filed this month, two towers will rise in phases, at 59 (north) and 33 stories (south). The north tower will have…

Ugo Colombo plans Four Seasons in Coconut Grove: sources

Developer Ugo Colombo is teaming up with Nadim Ashi’s Fort Partners on a planned Four Seasons-branded tower in Miami’s Coconut Grove, The Real Deal has learned. The development would rise on the site of the former Offices in the Grove building at 2699 South Bayshore Drive, which is being demolished. Colombo’s CMC Group owns the nine-story building, known…

Condo buyout bonanza: Deals are falling apart, stalling or resulting in messy legal fights in South Florida

Offers suddenly appeared under the doors of units at an oceanfront Miami Beach condo building one sweltering day in July, adding an unexpected twist to a drawn-out bulk buyout of the property. Mast Capital CEO Camilo Miguel Jr. was already in contract to purchase a majority of units at Amethyst, a 120-unit building that was constructed almost 60 years ago. But after negotiating…

Notable Retail Leases Signed in South Florida Q2 2023

We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the top retail leases signed by square footage in South Florida in the beginning of 2023 and throughout 2022. This past quarter was busy overall, and there were a few big box leases signed and sealed. Despite the sentiment that the traditional retail market is taking a hit due to several factors, particularly e-commerce and several retail store…

Alta lands $20M construction loan for Bay Harbor Islands condos

Led by a new developer, a once-troubled Bay Harbor Islands condo project landed a $20.3 million construction loan. Alta Developers, led by CEO Raimundo Onetto, scored financing for Alana from LV Lending, according to a press release. Alta took over the project in May from Chilean developer Ambienta Developers, led by CEO Claudio Cordero, after the company failed…

Related, BH, Sagi list waterfront North Miami dev site for sale

The Pérez family’s Related Group, BH Group and Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi are looking to sell a waterfront condo development site in North Miami, The Real Deal has learned. The partners paid $11 million for the former White House Inn on the Bay nearly two years ago, with plans to develop a luxury condo project on the site at 2305 Northeast 123rd Street. The partners could be…

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

Here’s our quarterly summary South Florida commercial real estate focusing on Miami retail real estate. The report includes statistical highlights (cap rates, vacancy rates, absorption, etc), the latest retail transactions, signed leases, retail trends, and current market activity. The retail real estate report is updated by our CRE experts who focus on the retail real estate sector. The analysis…

104-Story Mixed-Use Supertall Proposed At 130‐146 Biscayne Boulevard In Downtown Miami

Miami-Dade County planners have received a pre-application meeting request to review preliminary plans for a new 1,049-foot supertall mixed-use development in Downtown Miami. Spanning 2.15 acres, this expansive property comprises three contiguous parcels between Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 3rd Avenue, extending from Northeast 1st to 2nd Streets, essentially occupying…

Hakimian South Tower Approved for 45 NE 16th Street in Miami

The Hakimian Organization, a New York-based firm, is moving forward with plans for a two-phase project in Miami-Dade County. At a July 19th meeting, Miami’s Urban Development Review Board approved the first phase, Hakimian South Tower, in a 5-0 vote. Hakimian South Tower would offer 631 residential units––125 of which would be micro-units. Communal amenities include a ninth-floor…

Magic City’s makers: Ranking Miami general contractors that are changing the skyline

When construction began at the 830 Brickell office project in Miami about four years ago, the developers expected it to be completed in 2022. Yet, work still is ongoing. The schedule took a hit due to delivery delays of exterior window glazing and electrical switchgear equipment, said William Real, CEO of Civic Construction, 830 Brickell’s general contractor. Plus, Covid increased…

Columbus Center Unveils Completed Renovations At 1 Alhambra Place In Coral Gables

Columbus Center, a Class A office complex at 1 Alhambra Plaza in the heart of Coral Gables, has proudly unveiled its recent multi-million-dollar renovation. The modernization, which breathes new life into the first-floor lobby, sixth-floor terrace, and exterior facade of the 261,867-square-foot property, has been meticulously executed. Boasting an array of amenities, the multi-use…

Terra Delivers 460-Unit Natura Gardens Apartments in Hialeah

Terra has delivered Natura Gardens, a 460-unit, garden-style apartment community located on the west side of Hialeah, a suburb in northwest Miami-Dade County. The 23-acre property comprises 12 residential buildings with units ranging from one to three-bedrooms. Units range in size from 727 to 1,603 square feet and rental rates range from $2,000 to $3,350 per month.

South Florida-Based Terra Completes Natura Gardens Apartments in West Hialeah Neighborhood

Terra… one of South Florida’s most active residential and commercial development firms, has completed its newest multifamily community in Northwest Miami-Dade County: Natura Gardens. Now welcoming new residents, the 23-acre community includes 460 garden-style rental apartments across twelve residential buildings in Miami’s…

Terra Completes Natura Gardens Apartments In Miami-Dade’s West Hialeah Neighborhood

Terra, a prominent South Florida development firm under the Terra West MF Investments, LLC, has completed its latest residential community, Natura Gardens, at 17351 Northwest 94th Court in West Hialeah, Miami-Dade County. Covering 23 acres, this garden-style rental apartment complex comprises 460 units spread across twelve 3-story residential buildings, offering one…

Appeals court restores Masoud Shojaee’s $10M win against Ugo Colombo affiliate

An appeals court restored Masoud Shojaee’s Shoma Group’s $10 million jury award against an affiliate of Ugo Colombo, adding another twist in the long-running lawsuit over a failed Coral Gables project. The Third District Court of Appeal nixed a state judge’s ruling from last year that had quashed the jury’s damages award to Shoma. Entities tied to Shojaee and CMC Group founder…

Miami-Dade lost 80K residents during “pandemic boom” years

The “great migration” to Florida isn’t hitting Miami quite the same. Miami-Dade County’s population declined between 2020 and 2022, with nearly 80,000 people moving to other parts of Florida or leaving the state, according to U.S. Census data cited by the Wall Street Journal. That contradicts what many brokers, developers and politicians like Miami Mayor Francis Suarez preach…

Summit Real Estate Pays $60M for Pembroke Pines Warehouse

Former Bang Energy warehouse. Image courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield Summit Real Estate Group’s Arrowrock US Industrial Fund IV has acquired Bang Energy’s former warehouse and distribution center in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Vital Pharmaceuticals sold the 224,650-square-foot asset for $59.7 million, with the assistance of Cushman & Wakefield. The purchase also includes…

Bankrupt Energy Drink Company’s Warehouse In Pembroke Pines Sells For $60M

An investment fund has paid $59.7M for the Broward County warehouse of an energy drink company that went bankrupt. Arrowrock US Industrial Fund IV, a fund managed by Summit Real Estate Group focused on multitenant industrial assets in the Southeast, purchased the 224K SF warehouse on 23 acres at 20311 Sheridan St. in Pembroke Pines. The seller was two entities controlled…

Ben Mallah sells Fort Lauderdale hotel for $28M

Tampa Bay real estate investor Ben Mallah seized on improving market conditions and sold a Sheraton-branded hotel in Fort Lauderdale for $28 million, which breaks down to $111,000 per key. South Florida hospitality real estate sales are ticking upwards after stuffing a dry spell of activity induced by high financing costs. Investor Arif Butt and his five partners bought the 253-key…

Greystar picks up Coral Springs apartment complex for $56M

A 22-building apartment complex in Coral Springs has a new owner. A Greystar affiliate purchased Park Place At Turtle Run, a rental community with 350 units at 3600 Terrapin Lane, records and Vizzda show. The firm paid $56.1 million, which breaks down to about $160,000 per unit. The buyer, headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, assumed a $35.3 million Freddie Mac…

Integra Investments Acquires Prime Site in Lantana, Florida for Development of Workforce Mixed-Use Multifamily Community

Integra Investments, a Miami-based real estate investment and development firm, has recently acquired the 19-acre Lantana Village Square shopping center with plans to transform it into a mixed-use community featuring Class-A housing catered towards the workforce. This redevelopment project will take advantage of the Live Local Act, which aims to increase affordable housing…

Margaritaville could be headed to Riviera Beach’s Marina Village

Parrotheads rejoice. A Margaritaville-branded hotel could anchor a proposed waterfront mixed-use project in Riviera Beach’s Marina Village. The project’s master developer, Atlanta-based APD Solutions, is partnering with singer-turned-hotelier Jimmy Buffett to add a five-story building with 150 rooms and an 875-space parking garage to anchor the proposed mixed-use site…

Palm Beach Developer Gets 5 Years In Prison For Defrauding Investors, Lenders

Developer Robert Matthews was sentenced to 65 months in prison Monday for crimes tied to a West Palm Beach hotel redevelopment fundraising scheme that defrauded investors and financial institutions of tens of millions of dollars. Matthews, 65, pleaded guilty in 2019 to charges that he misled investors about the redevelopment of The Palm House Hotel and used investor funds…

Hangar Group launches second car condo project in West Palm Beach

Local developer Scott Cunningham is staying in his new lane with another luxury car condominium project underway in West Palm Beach. Cunningham’s Hangar Group broke ground on its second garage condominium intended for collectors of cars, motorcycles, art and wine, he confirmed. The launch follows the completion and sellout of the Hangar Group’s first Hangar location in Riviera Beach…

Greystar buys Palm Beach Gardens multifamily complex for $92M

For the second time in a week, Greystar and PGIM Real Estate cut a deal for a South Florida multifamily project. An affiliate of Charleston, South Carolina-based Greystar paid $92.1 million for Gardens East by Arium, a 448-unit apartment complex at 10000 Alternate A1A in Palm Beach Gardens, according to records and Vizzda. The deal breaks down to $205,714 per apartment.

Second-Quarter 2023 Economic Review by Sector

Lee & Associates’ newly released 2023 Q2 North America Market Report outlines industrial, office, retail and multifamily outlooks trends in the United States. This sector-based review of commercial real estate trends for the second quarter of the year examines the difficulties facing each property type and where opportunities in the landscape may be emerging. Troubles with absorption…

How Much Are Office Buildings (Nationally) Worth? A Scary Amount Less Than They Used To

A new analysis from Trepp suggests that the concerns many CRE owners and investors have had about office property valuations may have been overly optimistic. Working through an examination of CMBS office-secured loans — because there is publicly available data, unlike privately transacted loans — the firm estimated that the average total loss ran from 52% for construction…

Normalized Demand Cooling Industrial Starts Nationally

Higher interest rates and normalized demand have slowed industrial construction and have helped to cool industrial starts, with 147.1 million square feet beginning construction in the first half of the year, according to a report by Commercial Edge. During the same period in 2022, developers broke ground on 313.2 million square feet, according to the report. Charlotte was a particularly…

More sticker shock ahead as Florida’s property insurance crisis worsens

Farmers Insurance’s decision to stop writing new policies and not renew existing ones in Florida is adding fuel to the property insurance fire in the state. Farmers said its decision was “necessary to effectively manage risk exposure.” Though the company isn’t a major player in the state’s insurance market, the move could be indicative of more to come. About 100,000 policies in Florida are affected.

Missing Millions and a Rabbinical Arbitrator: Real-Estate Deal Gone Bad Hits Popular Crowd Funder

One of the biggest platforms that promised to give small investors access to major real-estate projects missed red flags and funneled cash into firms that fabricated their past. Now it is facing deals gone bust where $63 million of customer cash has gone missing. CrowdStreet raised $4 billion for property developers by touting big returns, but many deals fell short. After this story…

The Pursuit Of Unclogging The U.S. Supply Chain Has Helped Industrial Investment Outperform The Rest Of CRE

If there’s one thing the pandemic shed a spotlight on, it is how the global supply chain was not ready for an influx of consumerism. Ships were backed up at some of the world’s largest ports, meaning that hardware, car parts and furniture were absent from retailers’ usual inventory. Richard Thompson, international supply chain director at JLL, summed it up earlier this year when he said…