Nov 03, 2021 - 0 Comments - Top Stories -

Miami Commercial Real Estate News November 3, 2021: 1.9M sf Resi MXU Planned for Blue Lagoon; Pair of Self-Storage Properties Trade for $43M; More…

Alex Karakhanian buys multifamily development site north of downtown Miami

Developer Alex Karakhanian acquired a site in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District for close to $15 million, The Real Deal has learned. A partnership led by Karakhanian’s Lndmrk Development acquired the property at 1635 North Miami Avenue, Karakhanian confirmed. Records show JRSY Limited, led by Steven Gombinksi, sold the 0.9-acre site. It’s…

Life Storage pays $43 million for two buildings in Miami-Dade

A New York-based real estate investment trust made a hefty play on the Miami-Dade County self-storage market with the $43.5 million purchase of two facilities. Life Storage bought the buildings at 201 Northwest 37th Avenue and 6850 Southwest 81st Terrace in two deals. Entities tied to Kirchhoff Companies sold the buildings. Life Storage paid $22.5 million…

Swiss firm makes $6 million bet on renovated Miami apartment complex

For the second time in two weeks, a boutique apartment complex in a Miami residential neighborhood sold for more than $6 million. An affiliate of Lurra Capital, a Zurich, Switzerland-based private investment firm headed by founder and CEO Tyron Birkmeir, paid $6.4 million for The Shenandoah, a two-building multifamily at 2162 Southwest 14th Terrace

Miami’s real estate-backed mayor reelected, Virginia Key marina lease rejected

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who amassed major campaign contributions from the real estate industry, was reelected on Tuesday with nearly 79 percent of the vote. Voters also rejected a ballot measure that would have authorized the city to waive competitive bidding and move forward with a 75-year lease with Virginia Key Marina’s current operator. Nearly 53…

Bet against retail property costs investor big-time

A hedge fund that lost millions betting against commercial real estate now claims that JPMorgan forced it to call off the gamble at the worst time, then pumped up the price of paying its tab. Jerica Capital Management, founded by CRE veteran Warren Ashenmil in 2012, entered into a $125 million contract with JPMorgan in 2017 to short a pool of commercial…

Here are the real estate players who contributed to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s reelection campaign

Miami Mayor Frances Suarez was reelected on Tuesday evening with nearly 79 percent of the vote.  The real estate industry rallied behind the development-friendly Miami Mayor Francis Suarez in his bid for reelection. Developer David Edelstein, the Chetrit Group, Property Markets Group, Tibor Hollo and WeWork founder Adam Neumann are among the…

Israeli firm sells downtown Miami garage redevelopment site for $25 million

A pair of foreign real estate investment firms completed a trade for a downtown Miami parking garage that was previously approved for a twin-tower, mixed-use redevelopment project. Mishorim Real Estate Investments, a publicly traded Israeli company, sold the Bayfront Garage at 255 Northeast First Street for $25 million…

Surfside Collapse Will Lead To Developers Buying Out Whole Condos For Redevelopment, Experts Predict

When the Champlain Towers South condominium collapsed in Surfside, Florida, in June, it brought scrutiny to other buildings with potentially outdated structures. “I think of any building built before 1970, or in the 1970s,” said Don Peebles, founder, chairman and CEO of The Peebles Corp. “Chances are a 50/50 shot that the concrete was mixed with beach…

Heading south: Alta buys dev site for apartment complex near Homestead

Raimundo Onetto’s Alta Developers bought a development site near Homestead for $9 million with plans for a multifamily project… target south Miami-Dade County. Alta plans to build a 264-unit apartment complex and 27 townhouses, according to a news release. The nearly 12-acre property at 24500 Southwest 127th Avenue is between Southwest 127th and 128th…

1.9 million square feet planned for string of Blue Lagoon towers

A major residential mixed-use project planned near Miami International Airport will include a series of 12-story buildings with retail on the first floor, parking in the pedestal level and residential units above. The city’s Urban Development Review Board recommended approval. Owner-developer PAJ Investment Group LLC plans to build Miami City Center…

Singaporean wealth fund leads $6.8B deal for U.S. industrial properties

The red-hot industrial real estate sector just notched one of its largest deals ever. A group of investors led by Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC bought 328 U.S. industrial properties, including debt, from the real estate unit of Swedish private equity firm EQT for $6.8 billion, according to a source familiar with the deal. Eastdil Secured…

58-story mixed-use Edgewater tower advances

A skyscraper reaching 58 stories planned for the Edgewater area in Miami, called 710 Edge, has been recommended for approval by the city’s Urban Development Review Board. Documents identify… 710 Edge LLC. The project was designed by O’Donnell Dannwolf & Partners Architects. The sleek tower is planned for a waterfront property at 710 NE 29th Street.

Opportunities seen in added Port of Miami rail cargo

An eight-year-old Florida East Coast Railway link carrying cargo in and out of the Port of Miami is now hauling 60 to 80 loaded shipping containers a day from the inland US to sail seaboard to other nations, and operators say there’s plenty of room for expansion. One or two trains daily roll east past the Freedom Tower, cross Biscayne Boulevard and head into the…

Dense Wynwood area population lures commuter rail station

The Wynwood/Edgewater/Midtown station, part of the Northeast corridor of the rapid transit Smart Plan, is still waiting for county transportation officials to pick a specific location and further county commission approval in order to break ground. “The Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) has not yet received approval…

Transportation trust nearly derails Miami Beach monorail plan

A bid to reject a planned mainland-Miami Beach partial monorail link failed narrowly at the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust last week, 6-5. The failed motion had urged the county and Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) to ensure that the Beach Corridor of the six-corridor rapid transit Smart Plan is built differently to maximize ridership.

Large mixed-use project makes big changes to win OK in Wynwood

The development team behind one of the largest mixed-use residential and office projects to rise in Wynwood continues to work with the City of Miami Planning Department staff and is confident of final approval. Owner-developers L&L Holding Co. and Carpe Real Estate Partners are behind The Wynwood Plaza, formerly 29N, which is to rise at 95 NW 29th St.

Video: Costar’s David Kahn Discusses Whether Office Property is Turning the Corner

David Kahn, Director of Market Analytics Director with CoStar Group, joins this commercial real estate discussion to share the current thoughts on the office property market. Included in the discussion are office rental rates, occupancy levels, market value trends, new supply, absorption of supply, and a forecast on what can be expected in the future. CoStar Group…

Swire sells Brickell City Centre hotel for $174M, and nearby Conrad Miami trades for over $100M

Two Brickell hotels sold for more than $100 million each, including the $174 million sale of East, Miami, as hotel investment sales in Miami continue to ramp up. Hong Kong developer Swire Properties sold the 352-key East, Miami hotel to a joint venture of funds managed by Trinity Fund Advisors and funds managed by Certares Real Estate Management, according to a…

What Are Office Tenants Looking for in South Florida?

South Florida’s office market has recently undergone major changes, fueled by a mass migration of businesses to the area, mainly from West, Northeast and Midwest metros. Companies seek office expansions or relocations to the South Florida area due to the state’s lower cost of doing business, the favorable tax environment, and the accessibility to Latin America and…

Masoud Shojaee’s Shoma wins $10M in yearslong suit against Ugo Colombo affiliate over failed condo project

Masoud Shojaee’s Shoma Group won a $10 million award in its yearslong suit against Ugo Colombo affiliate over a failed joint venture to develop a Coral Gables condo project. A jury on Friday determined an entity tied to Colombo’s CMC Group breached the partnership’s operating agreement and is on the hook for the damages, although it said Colombo individually…

Where Miami Ranks Among Top Florida Markets for Office Property Deliveries

Despite nationwide economic challenges to the office sector, Florida’s markets have continued to perform relatively well. Office deliveries in the first eight months of this year totaled 2.1 million square feet statewide, according to CommercialEdge. While this does represent a 14 percent drop from the same period last year, an additional 360,000 square feet is…

Lease roundup: Coca-Cola signs $4M Pembroke Park lease renewal

Coca-Cola I Seneca Industrial Park in Pembroke Park Coca-Cola Beverages renewed its 93,700-square-foot lease for a warehouse and distribution facility at the Seneca Industrial Park in Pembroke Park. Seneca Industrial Park in Pembroke Park. The renewal for a 64-month term is valued at nearly $4 million, according to a news release from Coca-Cola’s broker…

Lumber prices head higher as pandemic rollercoaster take another spin

Lumber prices are on the rise again as supply tightens, residential construction projects pick up, and the U.S. prepares to double a tariff on Canadian softwood. That means home prices will stay higher, Bloomberg reported, noting that lumber futures this week are about double pre-pandemic levels. Supply is tightening both in British Columbia and in…

Chanel spending $40M on buildout of Miami Design District flagship

Chanel is betting on its founder’s slogan: Fashion changes, but style endures. The luxury French fashion company is spending more than $4,000 per square foot on the buildout of its flagship store in the Miami Design District, sources told The Real Deal. Based on its roughly 10,000-square-foot space, that means Chanel is investing at least $40 million into the…

South Florida by the numbers: Brightline to restart & more

After 18-plus months of being cooped up and quarantined, intrepid travelers and commuters are ready to hit the road. Whether by land, sea or air, people are once again on the move in South Florida with ease and style, getting us closer to some semblance of – dare we say it? – normal. As new companies relocate and open office…

Michigan immigration attorney buys new Miami apartment building for $7M

The latest out-of-state investor drawn to Miami’s hotter than ever multifamily market is a Michigan immigration attorney, who scooped up a new building for $6.9 million. Rami Fakhoury, through an affiliate, bought the Silver Cove apartments at 2010 Southwest 25th Terrace in the Silver Bluff neighborhood. Developer Alfredo Borges, who completed the…

Here’s where housing funds stand in Biden’s slimmed-down spending bill

As Democrats tangle over the details of the Build Back Better reconciliation bill, its housing funding has been on the chopping block for weeks. Now, a clearer picture of the measure’s possible haircut is starting to emerge. President Joe Biden on Thursday laid out a new $1.75 trillion framework, shrinking the proposed spending plan from $3.5 trillion. In the latest…

AvalonBay pays $150M for apartment building with Whole Foods in Fort Lauderdale

AvalonBay Communities bought the Curv apartment building with a Whole Foods for $150 million, marking another indicator of ongoing investor appetite for South Florida multifamily real estate. Ram Realty Advisors sold the eight-story building at 410 Southeast 16th Court in Fort Lauderdale to the Arlington, Virginia-based publicly traded real estate investment trust…

LA firm buys former condo building near Boca Raton for $43M

A former fractured condo near Boca Raton that was assembled and converted into apartments sold to a California firm for $43 million. An affiliate of New York-based Axonic Properties, led by Jonathan Shechtman, sold BelAire Tower Apartments at 22511 Southwest 66th Avenue. The affiliate, Florida Condo I LLC, bought 97 units in September 2018 for…

Northland sells apartment complexes in West Palm Beach for $133M

Morgan Properties bought three multifamily complexes in West Palm Beach for $132.5 million, as investors continue to bet on the strength of South Florida’s housing market. Northland Investment Corp., based in Newton, Massachusetts, sold the 622-unit portfolio to Morgan, based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Morgan…

Billionaire Charles Cohen’s proposed West Palm Point office development plan stalls over garage design

Billionaire developer Charles Cohen is struggling to win city approval for the design of West Palm Point, his proposed 23-story office development in downtown West Palm Beach. At an at times testy meeting Monday night, West Palm Beach commissioners decided for the third time to delay their vote on a site plan that Cohen proposed for his…

Jungle Island owner sells Jupiter office building to New York self storage firm for $12M

ESJ Capital Partners sold an office building in Jupiter to a New York self storage company for $12.3 million. Aventura-based ESJ, led by President and CEO Arnaud Sitbon, sold the four-story, 38,769-square-foot RiverWalk Center building at 150 South U.S. 1 to RJM Jupiter Riverwalk, tied to Prime Group Holdings of Saratoga Springs, New York, according to property…