RREEF America buys Hialeah industrial property for $178M

An affiliate of Deutsche Bank bought the Centergate at Gratigny in Hialeah for $178 million, marking South Florida’s largest industrial sale of the year to date. RREEF America bought the three-building property at 5801 and 6301 East 10th Avenue from Newark, New Jersey-based PGIM, records show. Centergate at Gratigny totals 1.6 million square feet and has two newly constructed distribution buildings…

Florida’s Largest Industrial Deal

The industrial park comprises three buildings located at 5801 and 6301 E. 10th Ave. The Class A industrial property includes a 979,000-square-foot distribution and light assembly warehouse that was built in 1999 with varying clear span heights of 32 feet, 17 feet and 13 feet. The warehouse also offers 1.7 parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet, 140 trailer parking spots and a 7 percent overall office…

Russell Galbut closes on a missing piece of his Edgewater assemblage

Russell Galbut’s Crescent Heights closed on a corner piece of his assemblage in an Opportunity Zone in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood, The Real Deal has learned. The Miami-based firm, which is planning a major mixed-use project on the land assemblage, paid $4.9 million for the 10,452-square-foot property at 2901 Northeast Second Avenue, according to a source familiar with the deal.

China City Construction site in North Beach sells to hotel developer for $40M

A Chinese company that once promised to build a luxury residential building on an oceanfront lot in Miami Beach has sold the site to a hotel developer for $40 million, The Real Deal has learned. CCCC Miami Beach LLC sold the nearly 1-acre plot at 6747 Collins Avenue to Urbanica Management LLC, according to brokers Miguel Pinto and Stefano Santoro of Apex Capital Realty. The deal closed on…

The Last Vacant Oceanfront Parcel In Miami Beach Just Sold

The last undeveloped parcel of oceanfront land in Miami Beach has traded hands. The 0.98-acre lot sold for $40M — just about $1K per SF — in an off-market deal. The property is located at 6747 Collins Ave., in between the Deauville Beach Resort and Sterling Condominiums in the neighborhood known as North Beach. Developer Don Peebles had bought the land for $4.6M in 2010 and…

Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine owner wants to build co-living in North Beach

The family that owns Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine, a group of popular Cuban restaurants, is looking to redevelop its location in North Beach into co-living. Las Vegas Beach Corp. filed plans for a 24,265-square-foot, 55-foot building at 6970 Collins Avenue. The project, designed by Antoniazzi Architecture, would have 21 co-living units with an average size of 546 square feet, plus 3,500 square feet of restaurant…

Virginia Key sports park plan faces two-year time out

It will be at least another two years before Miami-Dade County turns the old landfill on Virginia Key over to the City of Miami, which has plans to develop the site into a sports park. The city owns most of the barrier island, which connects the mainland with Key Biscayne via the Rickenbacker Causeway. Responsibility for the landfill rests with the county. Miami-Dade County’s expansive remediation plan…

After side issues, look at the crux of golf course giveaway

A three-day environmental scare last week nearly powered a below-par bid to plow under the only golf course in Miami city limits. Why did officials negotiating to lease Melreese Golf Course for what could be the city’s largest private development first close the course based on an environmental report and then three days later reopen it because nothing was really new? Was it caution to protect golfers…

CIM Group Breaks Ground on Mixed-Use Development in Wynwood

CIM Group has broken ground on a mixed-use development in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. The project will feature 27,000 square feet of street-level retail and studio space, about 60,000 square feet of office space, 257 apartment units and approximately 480 parking stalls. The yet-to-be-named project will span a city block from NE 22nd and NE 23rd streets, four miles north of downtown Miami.

Charts: U.S. Net Exports as a Percent of GDP, then by Trading Partner (as a Percent of GDP)

Above is a chart from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis of the net-exports-to-GDP ratio for the United States. Notably, it has been negative since the late 1970s, and for the last decade or two has been considerably less so that its most negative dip in 2005 or so. Economists have proposed various reasons for the persistence of the trade deficit. One involves sources of income the USA…

Trump disputes report that Doral golf resort has bedbugs

Donald Trump, and Trump National Doral Miami golf resort (Credit: Getty Images and iStock) President Trump disputed a resurfaced report that the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort has bedbugs after he proposed hosting next year’s Group of Seven summit at the property. Trump took to Twitter to respond to social media posts stemming from a 2016 lawsuit by New Jersey insurance executive…

Is Bob Zangrillo in or out of $1B Magic City project?

A post shared by bobzangrillo (@bobzangrillo) on Aug 10, 2019 at 8:41pm PDT Miami developer Robert Zangrillo appears to still be involved in the $1 billion Magic City Innovation District project in Little Haiti. Zangrillo is among the dozens of parents – including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin – indicted earlier this year for their participation in the largest-ever college admissions…

Arison-developed Hamilton on the Bay hits the market in Edgewater

Carnival Cruise Line founder Ted Arison built Hamilton on the Bay, a waterfront residential building in Edgewater, in the early 1980s. Now, a company affiliated with the Arison family is looking to sell the 271-unit apartment building and surrounding land. The property, at 555 Northeast 34th Street, is on the market and expected to sell for more than $100 million, brokers say. A comparable sale in 2015 would…

Integra Investments, partner buy Miami Beach office building near Lincoln Road

Integra Investments and Constellation Group acquired an office building just off Lincoln Road for $10.1 million. Ivy Realty sold the 31,270-square-foot office building at 1674 Meridian Avenue, property records show. The building includes 5,505 square feet of retail space, according to a release. Ivy Realty, a commercial real estate investment firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut, paid nearly…

Integra Investments, Constellation Group Purchase Office Building in Miami Beach for $10.1M

Integra Investments and Constellation Group have purchased a 31,270-square-foot office building located at 1674 Meridian Ave. in Miami Beach for $10.1 million. The asset also includes 5,500 square feet of ground-level retail space. The partnership will market the office space to small- and medium-sized tenants. New ownership is planning a multimillion-dollar renovation that includes upgrading the lobby…

Bath Club association, Mark Penn and Thomas Ireland score court victory over Peebles

In a blow to Peebles Corp., a Miami-Dade judge tossed out a lawsuit brought against two high-profile unit owners and the association at the Bath Club, the historic Miami Beach private club the developer acquired and redeveloped in the early 2000s. Miami Dade Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko last month ruled in favor of defendants Mark Penn, Thomas Ireland, the condo and maintenance associations for…

Video: Tower Capital Founder Adam Finkel Provides Commercial Property Financing Update

Adam Finkel, Principal and Co-Founder of Phoenix based Tower Capital, joins America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss how interest rates, underwriting, and lender sentiment are affecting the commercial real estate market. The brief rise in rates, quickly followed by the recent drop, is discussed as relief for borrowers just as increases were anticipated.  The conversation moves on to underwriting…

Firm Adds 30 KSF at Miami-Area Business Park

Off Lease Only, an independent car dealership, has inked a 30,000-square-foot lease extension at AVE Aviation & Commerce Center, a 178-acre, master-planned business park in Opa-Locka, Fla. The 15-year lease for the company’s vehicle showroom and offices is in the 171,000-square-foot Building J of the mixed-use campus. AVE Aviation & Commerce Center is at 14350 NW 56th Court in the Miami…

The trade war keeps escalating. Here’s how it’ll impact real estate

For months, trade war tensions with China have been on the rise. The Chinese government said Friday morning it would implement a $75 billion retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods — a response to President Trump’s $300 billion tariff on Chinese goods. After the announcement, Trump said he would raise tariffs on Chinese goods by as much as 30 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal. As the back and…

Surge of hotel development leads to declines in occupancy, revenue in South Florida

South Florida hotel occupancy rates fell slightly in the first half of the year as the supply of rooms increased faster than bookings, recently released data shows. “It’s positive to see that more people traveled here … It’s just that hotel developers are building too many rooms, for now,” Paul Weimer, a Miami-based senior vice president of CBRE said. Research by hotel industry monitor STR shows the tri-county…

Lionheart Capital scores TCO for long-delayed Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach

Lionheart Capital secured a temporary certificate of occupancy for its long-delayed luxury condo project The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach. The TCO from the city of Miami Beach means that closings can finally begin at the 111-unit, 15-villa luxury development at 4701 Meridian Avenue, where prices range from $2 million to over $40 million. The project is currently more than 70 percent presold…

New frontier? Developers look to Hialeah

Developer Avra Jain is looking to bring back the glory days of Hialeah, a working class, predominantly Hispanic city in central Miami-Dade, just southwest of Miami International Airport. Jain is planning a major adaptive re-use commercial development on about 6 acres of land in east Hialeah, she said during a panel hosted by CREW Miami at Four Seasons Hotel Miami earlier this week. Jain, who acquired the…

Long-suffering retailers took another serious beating in Q2

Ahead of new tariffs on Chinese goods set to hit everything from tracksuits to ski gloves, second quarter earnings reports from big retailers have been a mixed bag. Affordable, big box and discount brands like Target fared relatively well, while sales from higher-end companies such as Victoria’s Secret and Nordstrom disappointed yet again. Razor-thin profit margins call for creative tactics from the…

Atlantic | Pacific closes $140M portion of multifamily fund

Atlantic | Pacific Real Estate Group and Blue Arch Advisors closed a $140 million portion of a fund that invests in multifamily properties in the Southeast and Southwest U.S. The fund is looking to raise a total of $300 million, which will give it buying power of over $750 million. Investors in the fund include domestic and international institutional investors as well as high net worth individuals, according to a…

Cote NYC heads to Miami, Sushi Garage opening at CocoWalk, & other restaurant news

CocoWalk at Coconut Grove Cote | Miami Design District Cote, a high-end Korean barbecue steakhouse, is coming to Miami. The Michelin-starred restaurant will open in a 5,892-square-foot space at 3930 Northeast Second Avenue in the Design District, according to brokers Lyle Stern and Sara Wolfe of Koniver Stern Group. Wolfe brokered the deal. The restaurant is expected to open in the fall of…

Finvarb and Cho land construction loan for mixed-use hotel near Brickell City Centre

Co-developers Robert Finvarb and Tony Cho closed on a $67 million loan for a mixed-use hotel near Brickell City Centre, records show. C-F Brickell Owner LLC secured the financing from City National Bank to build on the assemblage of nearly 29,000 square feet of land at 115 Southwest Eighth Street in Miami. Last year, the Miami Urban Development Review Board approved plans for a 21-story, 264-key dual…

Inside the saga that led Regalia’s developers to lose ownership of their most prized units

A Miami-Dade judge ruled the developers of Regalia, a luxury condo tower in Sunny Isles Beach, must turn over 100 percent interest in the companies that own the remaining two – and most expensive – unsold units, The Real Deal has learned. The ruling is a blow to the developers who failed to sell the top-priced penthouse and beach house, each currently listed at more than $15 million, amid a…

BBX Capital, Altman sell Altis at Bonterra in Hialeah for $90M

BX Capital Real Estate and Altman Companies sold the 314-unit Altis at Bonterra apartment complex in Hialeah to AvalonBay Communities for $90 million. The joint venture sold the property at 3645 West 98th Street for $286,624 per unit, records show. The property spans 14 acres off of I-75 in the far western side of Miami-Dade County. Construction began in the first quarter of 2016 and…

Chart: Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers Illustrates Lack of Ammo to Combat a Recession

There has been considerable discussion of late, and for that matter in recent years, of the Fed’s dwindling reserve of firepower to help mitigate the next recession. It has been a while, but surely one will come at some point. They always have. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers sums the situation up nicely with a recent tweet: There is little room for interest rate cuts. In every US recession since the…

$46 Million Sale of Contiguous Sites in Miami’s Wynwood District Arranged, Buyer Plans to Build Multifamily Units

Avison Young has arranged the $46 million sale of seven contiguous parcels in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. An affiliate of PMG Acquisitions LLC purchased the land and plans to build multifamily units up to six stories high above the existing single-story retail buildings. Six of the seven parcels have retail buildings already in place. The land is located at the corner of Second Avenue and 24th…

Chart: Another Perspective on the Inverted Yield Curve

Does the recent flattening of the #yieldcurve portend #recession? Not necessarily. The flattening of the real yield curve may simply reflect the fact real consumption growth is not expected to accelerate or decelerate from present growth rate of about 1% y/y. This is an interesting and unique (versus pundits at large) perspective on the inverted yield curve provided by Don Curren. His Twitter feed…

Challenges For Gulfstream Park: Retail Closings, Family Feud, Horse Deaths

Gulfstream Park, a horse racing track and casino just north of Miami in Hallandale Beach, Florida, underwent a $130M renovation 15 years ago, with an update of its racing and casino facilities and the development of a luxury shopping center component. But a recent spate of retail closings at the complex, plus a legal battle between its owners and the waning popularity of horse racing, raise questions about…

Here’s how toxic findings at Melreese could affect Beckham’s stadium project’s rent

David Beckham and Jorge Mas’ development group may now have to pay less in rent to the city of Miami after toxic contaminants like arsenic, barium and lead were found seeping under the soil at Melreese golf course, where they plan to build a $1 billion MLS stadium complex. Pollutants were found to be above the legal limit in a report this week by environmental…

Melo Group reveals plans for massive 60-story towers in Edgewater

Melo Group has finally unveiled its plans to build two 60-story waterfront residential towers in Edgewater. The Miami-based developer is planning to build 782 units and 9,000 square feet of ground floor retail and commercial space at the property at 700 Northeast 24th Street. The Next Miami first reported the proposal. Melo Group is requesting approval from Miami-Dade’s Shoreline Review Committee…

Jared Kushner’s Family Wants to Build $500 Million Tower on Biscayne Boulevard

Many of the land developers gentrifying portions of central Miami are already fairly annoying. For example, Bob Zangrillo, one of the major investors in the controversial Magic City Innovation District in Little Haiti, is a Burning Man attendee who was indicted earlier this year for allegedly… Kushner… filed paperwork to build a 1,100-unit apartment tower next to Braman Motors at 2000 Biscayne Blvd.

WeWork’s IPO filing sheds light on a startup posting massive losses, while issuing huge loans to execs

The We Company, whose imminent IPO stands to be one of the most hyped of the year, has laid bare its innerworkings. The WeWork parent company’s S-1 filing — filed Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — tells the story of a company experiencing massive growth while also sustaining massive losses. It’s also lent millions to members of its executive team at remarkably…

WeWork landlord, spooked by scrutiny over IPO filing, sues to get out of lease

A landlord is suing to get out of a lease agreement with WeWork amid fears the co-working company can’t support its lease. The office space giant, whose parent the We Company is expected to go public next month, currently occupies multiple floors at 21-33 Irving Place in Manhattan. The landlord — identified as Belvedere Management Co. in property records — claims that when WeWork signed its…

Don’t worry, WeWork has only committed $47 billion to landlords

WeWork’s future as a public company collided headlong this week with investors’ biggest concern: What happens in a downturn? Nine hours after the co-working company filed its IPO prospectus, the Dow plunged 800 points on Wednesday. With a possible recession looming, WeWork’s parent, the We Company, disclosed that over the next 15 years, it has $47 billion in lease commitments. That’s…

Forte Capital Management and GSI Equities under contract to buy Opportunity Zone property in the Design District

Alex Karakhanian is under contract to sell a Miami Design District property in an Opportunity Zone to Forte Capital Management and New York-based GSI Equities, The Real Deal has learned. The property, at 45 Northeast 41st Street, is expected to close in September for nearly $10 million, prior to completion of a building that is under construction. That benefits the buyers since it is in an Opportunity Zone…

CCIM Economist KC Conway Provides Industrial Real Estate Update ~ Part 2 of 2

K.C. Conway, Chief Economist with CCIM and Director of the Alabama Center for Real Estate, joins America’s Commercial Real Estate Show host Michael in Studio One to discuss the industrial property market. In this second of two video segments, discussion includes whether the end of the cycle is approaching. Conway discusses the fundamentals of the market as they are, noting things as essentially steady…

Condo-Laden Sunny Isles Mulls Development Moratorium

Like its neighbor, Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach is located on a narrow barrier island squeezed between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. Towering condominiums — including six Trump-branded towers and buildings by Porsche, Armani and Ritz-Carlton — line the easterly beachfront. To the west of its main drag, more old-school one- and two-story buildings dominate. With all this prime…

Blackstone buys industrial portfolio near Miami airport for $56 million

Blackstone bought a giant industrial portfolio next to Miami International Airport for $56 million. The private equity giant bought the three warehouses totaling 367,848 square feet at 3208 Northwest 72nd Avenue and 3108 Northwest 72nd Avenue for $152 per square foot, records show. Airport Trade Center, which lists Haim Yehezkel as one of its principals, is the seller. Yehezkel leads the real…

David and Lelia Centner bought a shuttered charter school in Wynwood for $13M

A company tied to real estate investors David and Leila Centner bought a shuttered charter school site in Wynwood for $12.8 million, signaling growing demand for charter school sites in South Florida. DLC Capital Management LLC bought the former Aspira Arts DE/CO Charter School at 1911 Northeast Miami Court from Aspira of Florida. Aspira of Florida’s board of directors agreed in January to…

200-bed Palmetto Bay hospital caught in zoning battle

A proposed 71-acre, 200-bed waterfront hospital campus in Palmetto Bay at 6525 SW 152nd Street won’t be built anytime soon, with a drawn-out court battle expected between the village and the intended developer. The dispute boils down to what the property’s zoning allowed prior to its purchase, as well as whether zoning changes by the village after the land purchase are an encroachment on the…

China trade spat spurs rush of courthouse construction

Miami-Dade’s efforts to build a new civil and probate courthouse must speed up or at least remain on track to avoid a potential fiscal quagmire due to souring trade relations with China, Commissioner Sally Heyman says. Ms. Heyman, the main county legislator behind the Flagler Street courthouse project, said Friday that things are running ahead of schedule, with negotiations progressing well with the…

Luxury private Drivers Club Miami doesn’t race to starting line

A year after a lease took effect between developers and Miami-Dade County for significant community investments within the Carol City neighborhood in Miami Gardens, including a luxury private auto track and club, construction has yet to begin. Zoning agreements, environmental testing, design meetings and construction-preventing covenants have been slowing progress under the lease between…

Allapattah to get 267 affordable units for elderly

Hundreds of affordable apartments are coming to Allapattah, all designed for elderly tenants. Allapattah Ventures LLC is proposing a 13-story structure at 1396 NW 36th Street to be called Mosaico, home to about 267 dwelling units, mostly in small floor plans. At a special meeting, the city’s Urban Development Review Board unanimously voted for a resolution recommending approval of the project, with…

Beckham’s soccer site has high levels of arsenic, contaminated soil: report

David Beckham’s plans to develop a Major League Soccer stadium at Melreese golf course in Miami hit another snag. An environmental analysis for the planned site for the Inter Miami team reported high arsenic contamination levels and surface-level soil samples containing debris that pose a “physical hazard,” according to the Miami Herald. The environmental firm EE&G…

Arsenic In The Soil: A Bargaining Chip For David Beckham’s Miami Soccer Stadium?

The Miami site where David Beckham and his business partners want to build a Major League Soccer stadium and $1B mixed-use complex is tainted with arsenic and other pollutants, an environmental analysis has found. The team says it intends to clean the site and move forward, while skeptics predicted the team will use the environmental findings to reduce what it pays for the land it’s acquiring from…

Developer Harvey Hernandez reaches settlement in BrickellHouse in failed robotic garage related lawsuit

Miami developer Harvey Hernandez has finally reached a settlement in a long-running case over a failed robotic car garage at the BrickellHouse condo development. Hernandez settled for $275,000, which dismissed with prejudice all claims against him, according to the Daily Business Review. The settlement pertains to a 2016 lawsuit filed by the condo association over BrickellHouse’s car garage…

The economy may be starting to slow. Real estate is taking notice

The yield curve inversion and threats of an escalating trade war recently sent markets into a tizzy last week. If those economic jolts are going to hit the real estate industry hard, it largely hasn’t happened yet. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t red flags waving in the wind and questions over long-term growth aren’t lurking in the background. “This is the…”

A Disheveled History of Miami’s Shopping Malls

Until the mid-’50s, Miami’s definitive shopping district was nestled on bustling Flagler Street in downtown. Many amenities standard in today’s shopping malls could be found there: department stores (most important, the Burdines on South Miami Avenue), restaurants, general retail, and movie theaters. The area was a place to eat, drink, exchange ideas, watch movies, and, of course, buy things. But as…

Busy Subcontractors Pushing Prices Skyward Call it the downside of an upturn.

South Florida construction prices are hitting record levels and commercial real estate developers, landlords and occupiers haven’t felt this type of wallet wallop since the last building boom of the mid-2000s. Driven by a messy stew of tariffs on steel, aluminum and other key materials, labor shortages, rising insurance premiums, insatiable demand and a healthy dash of opportunistic pricing power…

Crescent Heights buys Staples building in Edgewater

Crescent Heights added to its massive portfolio along Biscayne Boulevard in Miami. The Miami-based company, led by Russell Galbut, paid $14 million for the Staples-leased building at 2121 Biscayne Boulevard, according to Marcus & Millichap. Property records show BG7 LLC sold the 20,388-square-foot building, built in 2008. The company is tied to J and R Managers LLC and is managed by Richard…

Rezoning Property From Residential to Commercial

Converting commercial property into residential space—like turning a parking garage into condos—has been popular recently. But what about rezoning property from residential to commercial? Commercial real estate is lucrative. Nearly $90 billion is spent building it each year. If you have a residential property, it’s well worth your time converting it to residential. But where do you start? There are several…

Habitat Group buys land for new west Brickell project

Rendering of Brickell 12 and Santiago Vanegas Habitat Group paid $6.1 million for a site in west Brickell where it’s planning to build a hotel project. Habitat Group, led by Santiago Vanegas, closed on the 10,500-square-foot lot at 1200 Southwest Second Avenue, according to property records. A spokesperson for the developer said Habitat is planning to build Brickell 12, a 96-key hotel project, on the site.

Regal Cinemas Extends 500,000 SF Miami Lease Kendall Village Center

Regal Kendall Village IMAX & RPX, part of the Regal theater chain, has renewed its long-term lease for 72,000 square feet at Kendall Village Center, a 500,000-square-foot retail, office and entertainment development in the Kendall Lakes suburb of Miami. According to the new contract with the ownership, Berkowitz Development Group, the movie theater will undergo multimillion capital improvements…

Edgewater Opportunity Zone site hits the market for $14M

A 30,000-square-foot Opportunity Zone site in the burgeoning Edgewater neighborhood of Miami just hit the market for $13.5 million. A developer could build a 36-story condo, apartment or commercial building…  The site totals five parcels at 2650 Biscayne Boulevard, 2265 Northeast 26th Terrace, 3255 Northeast 26th Terrace, 4245 Northeast 26th Terrace and 5250 Northeast 27th Terrace. The property has…

Menin, Galbut sell shuttered South Beach hotel to Blue Road for $14M

Companies tied to Menin Hospitality and Russell Galbut’s Crescent Heights sold the shuttered Sanctuary Hotel in Miami Beach for $14.4 million to Blue Road. Sanctuary South Beach Inc., Sanctuary SB Properties LLC, Sanctuary RonRuss Properties and MJK Group LLC sold the 32-key condo-hotel at 1745 James Avenue to Jorge Savloff and Marcelo Tenenbaum’s Blue Road, according to Marcus & Millichap.

Bridge Investment Group Acquires Two Office Properties Totaling 528,679 SF in Metro Miami

Bridge Investment Group LLC, a Salt Lake City-based investment firm, has acquired two office properties totaling more than 500,000 square feet in the western Miami metro area. The price was not disclosed. The properties include the Offices at Flagler Station in Medley and the Offices at Doral Square in Doral. The buildings are approximately five miles away from each other, and just west of Miami…

Miami River apartments sell amid development boom

Miami real estate investor Jorge Ariel Lopez paid $7 million for an apartment building on the Miami River, signaled growing demand for properties along the waterway. Lopez bought the 42-unit building at 1160 Northwest North River Drive for $166,666 per unit, according to Fausto Commercial Realty. The seller is R/S Management of Charlotte, North Carolina, which is led by Larry Sorkin…

REIT to pay $322 million for sprawling Pembroke Pines apartment complex

In what will likely be the largest multifamily sale in South Florida this year, NexPoint Residential will pay $322 million for a 1,520-unit multifamily property in Pembroke Pines. NexPoint Residential, a publicly traded real estate investment trust, is under contract to buy the apartments, known as the Avant at Pembroke Pines, at 11801 Pembroke Road for about $212,000 per unit, according to a press release…

South Beach Is Heading to North Beach

Despite a 2015 public vote against increasing density in North Beach, Miami Beach will allow a luxury condo tower and refurbished hotels on North Beach’s Ocean Terrace in exchange for a $15 million public park. Commissioners last week unanimously voted to change the future land-use designation and zoning regulations of a two-block stretch between 73rd and 75th Streets on Ocean Terrace. The move…

Henley Investments Picks Up Miami Beach Hotel

Private equity firm Henley Investments has acquired its fourth boutique hotel in metro Miami with the purchase of Lord Balfour Hotel at 350 Ocean Drive for $34.7 million. The deal is reportedly Henley’s largest U.S. hotel acquisition to date. Life House, a company that frequently collaborates with Henley, will manage the asset. The total project capitalization, including acquisition and renovation costs, is…

Joint Venture Expands Beachfront Footprint with Acquisition of Two Hotels in Miami Beach for $139.9M

A joint venture between SHVO, Bilgili Group and Deutsche Finance Group (DFG) has acquired the Richmond Hotel at 1757 James Avenue, Richmond Apartments, and South Seas Hotel at 1751 Collins Avenue for a total of $139.9 million. The companies purchased South Seas Hotel from Majestic Hotel Corp. for $52 million. Along with direct access to the beach, the hotel offers amenities such as a swimming…

CCIM Economist KC Conway Provides Industrial Real Estate Update ~ Part 1 of 2

K.C. Conway, Chief Economist with CCIM and Director of the Alabama Center for Real Estate, joins America’s Commercial Real Estate Show host Michael in Studio One to discuss the industrial property market, including new supply coming online and the impact of tariffs industrial property holdings. In this part, he notes that much of the boom in industrial is related to the shift from retail to online…

Landlord Liable for Subtenants’ Trademark Infringement

If you asked most commercial landlords what keeps them up at night, they probably wouldn’t say that they worry about their tenants committing trademark infringement.  Granted, trademark infringement is not likely to be an issue for most tenants.  But when it does happen, the landlord might be on the hook.  In fact, in 2017, we wrote about that happening. Now it’s happened again.  Just last week…

General contractors are suffering under Trump’s new tariffs on Chinese goods

The trade war has created an uncertain environment for construction. (Credit: iStock and Getty Images) Anthony Rinaldi has learned first-hand what President Donald Trump’s trade war with China can mean for business. One of his eponymous firm’s current projects, backed by a Chinese-government-owned company, has recently stalled. He’s unsure when, or if, it will get back off the ground. Delays are,,,

Bridge Investment to pay $123 million for office properties in Medley and Doral

Offices at Flagler Station and Offices at Doral Square and Bridge Investment Group Executive Chairman Robert Morse Bridge Investment Group is buying two office properties in Medley and Doral for nearly $123 million, a source told The Real Deal. New York-based investment manager DRA Advisors is selling the 387,000-square-foot Offices at Flagler Station in Medley and the 141,000-square-foot…

Miami is Defying Nation’s Retail Woes With Thriving Malls, Shopping Centers

While there are mass retail closings around the country, in Miami, there is typically someone waiting on space to become available. Think about it: In Miami, there is actually a shortage of retail space. Uber luxury markets in Miami are performing extremely well with Bal Harbour Shops (owned by Whitman Family Development) being one of the top retail complexes in the country, followed closely by…

A rarity in Key Biscayne: commercial land hits the market for $21M

Listing broker Manny Chamizo and 12 Crandon Boulevard (Credit: Google Maps) The last piece of vacant commercial land in Key Biscayne is hitting the market for $20.6 million, The Real Deal has learned. The 1.4-acre property at 12 Crandon Boulevard, at the entrance to the Key Biscayne village center, is listed for sale with Manny Chamizo of One Sotheby’s International Realty. Property records show ES KB…

Epicure owner slices up Miami Beach space to sublease

Brian Carter, Ross Padfield and Filippo Incorvaia and the building Gone are the days of Epicure Gourmet Market & Café’s matzo ball soup, tuna sandwiches and baked goods. But Epicure owner Jason Starkman is working to redevelop the retail space in Miami Beach into smaller units that he can sublease, The Real Deal has learned. Starkman, who closed the Miami Beach institution in September 2017 following…

$300 Million Construction Loan Arranged for Office Tower in Miami

JLL has arranged a $300 million construction loan for the development of 830 Brickell, a 56-story, 1 million-square-foot office tower in Miami’s Brickell district. MSD Partners provided the four-year loan to the developers, a joint venture between OKO Group and Cain International. Located at 830 SE First Ave., 830 Brickell is slated for completion in early 2022. The property is situated next to a…

Miami Office Project Secures $300M Loan

JLL Capital Markets has facilitated a $300 million construction loan for 830 Brickell, a 1 million-square-foot office development in Miami’s financial district. Developed by a joint venture between OKO Group and Cain International, the project is expected to reach completion in the 1st quarter of ’22. MSD Partners originated the financing… Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill is the architect. Located at 830 SE 1st Avenue…

South Florida Retail Property Summary (Q2 2019)

Market Snapshot for South Florida Retail A summary of the highlights, trends, and current market activity of Q2 2019 for South Florida commercial real estate focusing on Miami-Dade County: Analysis derived and compiled from leasing data and transaction reports in order to better understand the overall health of the CRE market in Miami-Dade County. In…

Mega-yacht shiplift coming to renovated RMK Merrill-Stevens

RMK Merrill-Stevens, Florida’s first shipyard (founded in Jacksonville in 1885 and operating on the Miami River since 1923) will open its newly renovated and upgraded North Yard early next year. The company’s two boatyards straddle the river; the North Yard borders the Health District and the South Yard is near Marlins Stadium. The $30 million renovation, which included dramatic changes to both yards…

After years of study, premium Flagler transit a decade away

Three years after state transportation personnel began studying the project, premium transit on Flagler Street connecting downtown Miami to West Miami-Dade remains nearly a decade off. A Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) milestone timeline, whose dates are “tentative and subject to change,” shows construction starting in early 2025 after 14 prior steps. Members of the county’s…

As PortMiami rides high, more development deals on horizon

PortMiami, the world’s busiest cruise port in passengers by industry figures, is on course to maintain that distinction for the foreseeable future. Throughputs at the port in 2018 rose 4.7% from the year prior to roughly 5.59 million passengers, according to the port’s annual financial report. That number represents a new world record, said PortMiami spokesperson Andria Muniz-Amador. To meet future…

To Buy or Build a Commercial Property?

There’s few things more exciting than a growing business. But whether you’re starting a new venture or simply outgrowing your old space, you need to decide between buying or building a commercial property. Both options have their merits and downsides, so it’s important to look at all of the factors at play. A wrong decision here could significantly affect your business’ profitability down the line. Here’s a few…

Setai and other Miami Beach property owners sue city over stormwater fees

The Setai Miami Beach In the midst of near-daily rain storms and the semi-regular flooding in Miami Beach, a group of property owners in the city including the Setai hotel are alleging the way the city collects stormwater fees is illegal. The Nakash family, which owns The Setai Miami Beach, along with 24 other condo associations, multifamily owners and commercial property owners filed a lawsuit in…

Coral Springs investor buys apartment complex near North Miami Beach

A company tied to Coral Springs broker and investor Deepak Khosa paid $7 million for an apartment complex in northeast Miami-Dade. Club California LLC sold the California Club Apartments, a 64-unit complex at 750 Northeast 195th Street, to Khosa’s Miami Condo Holding Company LLC. The property traded hands for about $110,000 per unit. The complex was built in…

North Beach Yard is called off amid partnership split

The music has stopped for North Beach Yard. The entertainment and food venue that was supposed to replicate Wynwood Yard will not open, after Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales informed commissioners he is terminating the lease agreement, according to RE Miami Beach. On June 6, Morales told commissioners that founders Della Heiman and Ken Lyon had not complied with several terms…

AIDS Healthcare Foundation sells three vacant lots in Miami Gardens

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation sold three vacant lots in Miami Gardens to ahs Residential for $9.5 million after buying the site a year ago. The nonprofit sold the 13.1-acre site near 2255 Northwest 167th Street for $725,190 per acre, records show. AIDS Healthcare Foundation is a Los Angeles-based global nonprofit provider of HIV prevention services, testing, and healthcare for HIV patients.

Financially troubled Hotel Astor in Miami Beach listed for sale

The financially troubled and now-closed Hotel Astor is on the market for $12 million. The 42-room, three-story hotel at 956 Washington Avenue was renovated in 2014 using $9 million raised from EB-5 investors. It closed nearly a year ago after the ground lessor, 1651 Astor LLC, filed a lawsuit to evict the hotel from the property. Manny Chamizo of One Sotheby’s International Realty was hired to sell the…

Miami Mixed-Use Project Scores $13 Million Loan

A joint venture of Coral Rock Development Group and Arena Capital Holdings has obtained $12.8 million in financing for the retail portion of Pura Vida Hialeah, a 9-acre mixed-use project in Hialeah, Fla., the first of its kind in the area in more than 20 years. BB&T Bank originated the construction loan. General contractor Bluewater Construction broke ground on the project in April and plans to…

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment to South Florida via Direct EB-5

The controversial idea of granting U.S. residency to those willing to invest in America became a reality with the enactment of the Immigration Act of 1990 and the creation of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor permanent visa category. In crafting the EB-5, Congress had a clear vision: to stimulate job creation in poor and rural parts of America by allowing qualified foreigners to privately invest in projects…

Bayside Marketplace is planning another high-rise entertainment venue with a view

The manager of Bayside Marketplace has another towering attraction in the works: a rotating set of high-rise observation capsules. The Miami Planning and Zoning Board has approved the 176-foot observation wheel, which would be smaller but comparable to the London Eye and the Wheel at ICON Park in Orlando. SkyViews America hopes to erect the observation wheel at Bayside before the Super Bowl…

Robuchon restaurants set Miami opening dates, new restaurants planned for MiMo & other restaurant news

Miami Design District L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Le Jardinier are both opening later this month, New York-based Invest Hospitality announced. Joël Robuchon, an award-winning French chef, died about a year ago. Le Jardinier will open on Aug. 16 in a 4,200-square-foot, 108-seat space, according to a release. The restaurant, at 151 Northeast 41 Street suite 235, will also…

Defunct Facchina sues to collect $4.3M for MiamiCentral office building work

2 MiamiCentral and 3 MiamiCentral When Shorenstein Properties purchased 2 MiamiCentral and 3 MiamiCentral in May for $159.4 million, the San Francisco REIT also allegedly inherited millions of dollars in construction debt from the previous owner. Florida East Coast Industries, the parent company of VirginTrains USA, sold the buildings at 600 Northwest First Avenue to Shorenstein. Last month…

“Rich people are going to get richer anyway”: HUD Secretary Ben Carson dismisses concerns that Opportunity Zones will only benefit rich people

Ben Carson is well aware of the complaints directed at federal Opportunity Zones, and how the tax incentive program meant to boost struggling communities may only end up benefiting rich investors and developers. On Friday, Carson, the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, offered his frank assessment of that belief. “Some people have complained, and said, ‘This is…

Inside Stephen Ross’ massive empire of gyms, condos, coffee and more

The backlash over hosting a Trump fundraiser has been swift for developer Stephen Ross. Within 24 hours of word getting out, Equinox members and SoulCycle devotees have threatened to boycott both brands, which are owned by Ross’ Related Companies. (In San Francisco, some staged a protest.) Miami Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills publicly criticized the team owner for agreeing to host the event…

Overtown Opportunity Zone project snags $55M loan

Michael Tillman and Soleste Grand Central Michael Tillman’s PTM Partners and Estate Investments Group scored a $55 million loan from Bank OZK to build an 18-story apartment project in an Opportunity Zone in Overtown. The developers are building Soleste Grand Central, a 360-unit multifamily building at 218 Northwest Eighth Street in Miami near the MiamiCentral train station. The project will be a mix…

Related Group Bags $190M in Financing for 2 Luxury Resi Properties

Miami-based developer The Related Group has scored $190 million in financing for two luxury apartment developments in Tampa, Fla., Commercial Observer has learned. Deutsche Bank provided a $115 million floating-rate loan to refinance Manor Riverwalk, and SunTrust Commercial Real Estate lent $75 million on Town Westshore. Both transactions were negotiated by Newmark Knight Frank’s Dustin…

Lissette Calderon scores $24M construction loan for Allapattah apartments

Allapattah 17 and Lissette Calderon Developer Lissette Calderon scored a $24.4 million construction loan for a planned 192-unit apartment building in Allapattah. Calderon’s Neology Development Group is using the loan to build Allapattah 17, at 1569-1652 Northwest 17th Avenue. Calderon secured the loan from MidCap Financial, a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, according to…

Hunt Real Estate Capital Refinances a Multifamily Property Located in Homestead

Hunt Real Estate Capital announced today it provided a Fannie Mae conventional multifamily loan in the amount of $10.5 million to refinance a multifamily property located in Homestead, Florida. Homestead Gardens I & II is a 148-unit, garden-style apartment community that consists of two locations, 15451 SW 288th Street near Leisure City, and 527 S. Flagler near the city center. Homestead…

Town explores land swap for ‘potato field’ property

The Town of Cutler Bay is looking to engage in a land swap with the owners of a parcel on Old Cutler Road and SW 212th Street, commonly known as the “potato field,” with that property being exchanged for the six-story building and adjacent property at 10720 Caribbean Boulevard where the current Town Hall is located. Mayor Tim Meerbott published an open letter to residents on Aug. 5 stating…

Westover picks up Green Briar West Apartments near Westchester for $55 million

Green Briar West Apartments (Credit: Google Maps) The Westover Companies bought a 331-unit apartment complex near Westchester for $55 million. King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based Westover Companies bought the Green Briar West Apartments at 9615 Southwest 24th Street for $166,163 per unit. The seller is Green Briar West Corp., which is managed by Paul C. Green. Westover Companies secured a…

Summer Grove Apartments near Tamiami sells for $23 million

Summer Grove Apartments, a 116-unit multifamily property near Tamiami in western Miami-Dade County, sold for $22.5 million. Ralgo Coral Way LLC, a personal trust managed by Amy and Richard Gonzalez, bought the apartment complex at 10331 Southwest 24th Street for $193,534 per unit, records show. Caesuvest, a Florida company managed by Guillermo Hernández Roura, sold the property.

Miami mayor vetoes rezoning of Babylon apartment building

A week after the Miami City Commission approved plans to build a 24-story tower on the site of the former Babylon Apartments, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has vetoed the decision. Meanwhile, land use attorney Jeffrey Bercow, who is representing the developer, former Spaghetti Western star Francisco Martinez-Celeiro, filed an ethics complaint accusing the mayor’s legal counsel of illegally lobbying…

Spaghetti Western star scores approval to build controversial Brickell tower

More than a year after a preservation effort failed to save Brickell’s Babylon Apartments from the wrecking ball, Miami’s elected officials handed the famed site’s owner another significant victory. The city commission voted 4-1 on Thursday to grant Babylon International’s request to upzone the property at 240 Southeast 14th Street from 12 stories to 24 stories. Commissioners Joe Carrollo, Willy Gort…

Morningside residents sue to stop Biscayne Boulevard project

Mattoni Group president Ricardo Caporal, 5125 Biscayne Boulevard before it was demolished in July 2017, rendering of redeveloped Bayside Motor Inn site designed by Urban Robot Associates, developer Avra Jain Two-and-a-half years ago, the city of Miami’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board approved plans to demolish a 72-year-old Biscayne Boulevard motel and replace it with a…

Paving way for signature bridge, I-95, I-395, SR 836 revamp

As the Florida Department of Transportation’s massive design-build project encompassing three major Miami-Dade County roadways progresses, its effects will undoubtedly grow more noticeable. But spokesperson Oscar Gonzalez says everything possible is being done to reduce inconveniences to drivers. Primary activities began in January for the $802 million public-private project, whose funding is…

Bayside Ferris wheel no big deal, Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board hears before approving

The proposed Bayside Ferris wheel would be a fifth the size of the London Eye, the quintessential amusement ride of its kind. That was one of the several tidbits shared by project zoning co-applicants Sky Views of America and Bayside last week to dampen any impression that the attraction would disrupt downtown’s skyline. In renderings by both the city and the applicants, the Ferris wheel could be…

Miami’s Urban Development Review Board gives thumbs-up to colorful Allapattah project

A colorful mixed-use apartment building is coming to the heart of Allapattah, bringing with it retail uses and office space. TCG Allapattah 16 LLC proposes 16 Allapattah, a new mixed-use 12-story building with 323 residential units, 13,133 square feet of retail uses, 6,947 square feet of offices, and a parking structure to accommodate 336 vehicles. Miami’s Urban Development Review Board has…

After many twin-tower launches, Melo hits a barrier

After years of launching successful twin-tower residential projects in Miami’s Arts and Entertainment District north of I-395, The Melo Group is experiencing a setback while trying to gain approval for twin towers in the heart of downtown, south of the freeway. Melo recently presented plans for a mixed-use project called Downtown 5th, at 53 NE Fifth St. No one on the city’s Urban Development…

Prestige Imports plans $2M “auto spa” in North Miami Beach

Brett David and a rendering of the auto spa Luxury car dealer Prestige Imports is adding another facility to its over 10-acre North Miami Beach campus: Prestige Auto Spa, a car wash, gas station, restaurant and retail project. The 17,000-square-foot auto spa, at 15180 Biscayne Boulevard, is set to open by the fall, CEO Brett David told The Real Deal. Juice & Java, a health food concept based in…

Lennar picks up land assemblage in Homestead

Lennar Corp. paid $22.1 million for roughly 85 acres in Homestead as it continues its strategy of buying land in south Miami-Dade County. The Miami-based homebuilder bought the property, west of Southwest 152nd Avenue, for about $260,000 per acre. Clifford Lincoln, a trustee of Keys Gate III, tied to Keys Gate Realty, is the seller. The property is zoned for 770 residences, which breaks down to 117…

Gas leak at Edgewater construction site shuts down portion of Biscayne Boulevard

A gas leak at an Edgewater construction site shut down a portion of Biscayne Boulevard on Monday afternoon. The leak occurred at 3400 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, according to city of Miami Fire Rescue Captain Ignatius Carroll. It’s the site of the AC Hotel by Marriott, which is nearly completed. Carroll said the leak had been mitigated and Teco Peoples Gas was on the scene. The southbound lanes…

Here’s how much Michael Shvo and partners paid for their South Beach hotels

Bilgili Holdings and Deutsche Finance America closed on two South Beach hotels neighboring the Raleigh Hotel. After buying the Raleigh property for $103 million in February from Tommy Hilfiger and the Dogus Group, the Shvo group revealed… paid $87.85 million for the Richmond Hotel, at 1757 Collins Avenue, and $52 million for the South Seas at 1751 Collins Avenue, according…

Mixed-use projects in downtown Coral Gables will fuel population and commercial tenant growth: panel

A healthy office market coupled with a need for multifamily housing in Coral Gables is fueling a new wave of mixed-use development in the city’s downtown, according to a panel of major real estate players. While construction is booming, developers on a recent panel said the zoning and entitlement process can drag on for years, making building in the City Beautiful costlier and more time-consuming than…

Video: Real Capital Analytics SVP Jim Costello Provides an Investor’s View of the Retail Property Sector

Jim Costello, Senior Vice President at Real Capital Analytics, joins America’s Commercial Real Estate Show Host Michael Bull to talk about retail properties, touching on investor sentiment, cap rate trends, tenant performance, and investment strategies. They first note there have been lots of changes, with some great properties performing well while there is noted stress in others. Costello states that he…

Farewell Boom-Bust Cycle: Miami Office Market Ascends as the City Matures

For decades, the real estate market in Miami has been either boom or bust. Lately, the market has been on an impressive expansion cycle, with new office development following aggressive lease rate increases that in some areas have risen as much as 20 percent in total the past few years. As investors and users witness the growth in South Florida, the market has seen a significant amount of new…

Doral Residents Fight Expansion of “Mount Trashmore,” the Vomit-Inducing Medley Landfill

A few months ago, Jennifer Diaz rented a condo for her 64-year-old mother in Doral. She had heard there was a garbage dump nearby, but for the price, she thought it would be worth it. When she moved her mother in, neither of them expected to be next-door neighbors with “Mount Trashmore” — the Medley Landfill. Located at 9350 NW 89th Avenue, the landfill has been in operation since the 1980s. The…

Airbnb settles federal lawsuit against Miami Beach over business and resort tax disclosures

Airbnb has settled a federal lawsuit it brought against the city of Miami Beach, and both sides are claiming victory. The vacation​ rental tech company sued Miami Beach in late 2018, after the city commission passed new regulations. Those measures require Airbnb ​to ​display the resort tax account and business tax receipt numbers for each listing by their hosts within zones that allow short-term rentals. In its…

Revera Living buys Coral Gables office building for $8 million

Revera Living bought an office building on Ponce De Leon Road in Coral Gables for $8.1 million. Revera bought the three-story, 25,011-square-foot building at 1000 Ponce De Leon Road in Miami for $323 per square foot, records show. Nor Peru Capital 2, LLC, which is managed by Francisco Picasso of Coral Gables, sold the property. The office building was renovated in 2011 and was last purchased…

Mazel tov: Yeshiva school buys shuttered Aspira Raul Arnaldo Martinez charter school site in North Miami

The parent company of Yeshiva Elementary School paid $6.8 million for a shuttered charter school site in North Miami, The Real Deal has learned. Aspira of Florida sold the now-closed 53,685-square-foot Aspira Raul Arnaldo Martinez charter school at 13300 Memorial Highway for $126 per square foot, records show. The school in North Miami will be an extension of Yeshiva Elementary School’s…

Should You Consider Arbitration?

In my more than 40 years as a trial lawyer, I have seen arbitration go from being vilified because it divested the courts of jurisdiction over civil disputes to becoming the preferred form of dispute resolution in many commercial situations. For those who are unfamiliar with arbitration, it is simply another method for resolving disputes. An arbitration proceeding arises from a contract between two or…

BRW Floors Sells Industrial Warehouse in Medley for $9.7 Million

BRW Floors Inc. has sold a 69,834-square-foot industrial warehouse in Medley for $9.7 million. The facility includes 7,000 square feet of office space, 15 dock doors with room to add more, 24-foot ceilings and a 120-foot fenced and secured truck court. The warehouse is located at 12800 NW South River Drive, about 15 miles northwest of downtown Miami and next to U.S. Highway 27. Nick Wigoda…

Black Creek Group Picks Up Miami Industrial Asset

Black Creek Group has acquired a 69,834-square-foot warehouse in Medley, Fla. BRW Floors Inc., a hardwood flooring distribution company, sold the facility for $9.8 million. Newmark Knight Frank represented both parties in the transaction. According to Miami-Dade County records, the property last changed hands in 2011, when it traded for $4.7 million. Located at 12800 N.W.South River Drive…

Inc Mag: Poolside Co-Working Spaces and a Bustling Art Community: Your Ultimate Guide to Miami’s Hot Startup Scene

Wet labs for biomedical startups, an emerging “elder-tech” scene, and a pipeline to Latin America are just a few of the reasons Miami is heating up as a destination for founders. If you have 24 hours in this Art Deco metropolis, here are the insiders to meet, up and coming neighborhoods to check out, and some insider tips on where to grab that watermelon cucumber margarita. Startup Neighborhoods…

Exploring South Florida’s Flexible Office Sector

CGI Merchant Group-owned The Nexus Workspaces offers an alternative to traditional offices, striving since its launch in 2013 to provide small to medium-sized businesses the offices in which they can thrive. The company has locations in five cities in Florida, including Stuart, Vista Park, Wellington, Boca Raton and Boynton Beach. In an interview with Commercial Property Executive, CGI Founder & CEO…

MSD Partners Provides $300 Million Construction Loan for Miami Office Tower

MSD Partners has provided a $300-million construction loan for 830 Brickell, a 57-story, 724-foot tall office tower being built in Miami. The tower is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2022. Located at 888 Southeast Brickell Plaza, the tower will include 15,000 square feet of retail space, 490,000 square feet of office and a restaurant on the 53rd floor. WeWork has signed a lease for 146,000…

Is transit oriented development (TOD) the Solution for Gridlock-Ridden Miami?

It is widely known that one of the biggest issues a major city is facing nowadays is traffic congestion. According to a study by INRIX, the total cost of lost productivity caused by it hit the $87 billion mark in the U.S., in 2018. As a result, communities are constantly seeking innovative solutions and alternatives for curbing congestion. These include improving infrastructure and bringing people closer to…

Survey Finds Commercial Real Estate Development Is Flourishing In Florida

An annual survey from the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks has once again ranked Florida in the top five states for all commercial real estate development. Only Texas, New York, California and Tennessee ranked ahead of Florida in the survey conducted by an affiliate of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks. But fifth is nothing to sneeze at, especially when looking at the…

Blavatnik-backed Ocean Terrace development agreement approved

Sandor Scher and Alex Blavatnik with a rendering of the project Alex Blavatnik and Sandor Scher got the green light to build more hotel rooms at their North Beach project in exchange for a park for the city. The Miami Beach City Commission unanimously approved a development agreement that will enable the Ocean Terrace developers to build 110 hotel rooms instead of 78 rooms. In exchange…

Miami Beach City Commission OKs $15M Ocean Terrace Project

The Miami Beach City Commission has approved a two-block development of its Ocean Terrace Streetscape Plan. The City entered a private-public partnership with Ocean Terrace Holdings LLC, which will be responsible for the design, construction and full execution of the five-acre public space. The redevelopment will take four years or fewer to complete and cost $15 million. What is today an…

Michael Shvo gets zoning for 200-foot South Beach tower

New York developer Michael Shvo has obtained the zoning to build a 200-foot-tall tower in South Beach, and now another hotelier wants to get in on the action. On Wednesday, the Miami Beach City Commission unanimously approved an ordinance that will allow ground floor additions up to 200 feet tall for properties more than 115,000 square feet in size that are located between 16th and 21st streets…

Trouble in the land of OZK: Why this important construction lender for Miami, NYC may be on shaky ground

As Bank of the Ozarks’ private jet lifted off from Little Rock, Arkansas, Dan Thomas geared up for another day of dealmaking. As vice chair of the bank, he oversaw one of the country’s largest construction lending operations and had become a financial messiah for major condo developers in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Seated shoulder to shoulder with him that morning was his boss, George Gleason.

U.S. Office Vacancy Decreased in Q2 2019

The latest research from Los Angeles-based CBRE shows show the U.S. office vacancy rate decreased during Q2 2019, by 10 bps, to 12.2%, with the rate for suburban submarkets decreasing and the downtown rate going unchanged. Overall, the markets tracked by the firm registered a very healthy 60-bps drop for the past four quarters, as the office sector regained momentum. CBRE says the strong annual…

Construction starts in South Florida fall almost 40% in June

Construction starts in South Florida fell significantly in June amid continued signs that the commercial and residential real estate markets are slowing down after years of rapid growth on a national and local level. Total construction starts declined 39 percent on a yearly basis in South Florida to $1.01 billion, according to Dodge Data and Analytics. Construction of nonresidential properties fell to $400.4 million…

Photo: Checking in on the Waterfront Restaurant Complex Under Construction at the Four Ambassadors

As has been reported in Next Miami (Restaurant Complex Called Brickell Bay Boardwalk Proposed Behind Four Ambassadors) and Miami Condos Blog (Four Ambassadors’ Waterfront Restaurant Space To Be Redeveloped As ‘Brickell Bay Boardwalk’) on the waterfront behind the Four Ambassadors Condominium a waterfront restaurant complex is being built. In the embedded photo one can see that it is,,,

The Real Opportunity Zone Gold Rush Is Happening At Events, In Consultants’ Offices

Since the opportunity zone program was introduced, the flurry of investment activity that its architects foretold hasn’t materialized. In its place, an ecosystem of events, media, marketing and paid consultation has arisen and flourished — an industry based on talking about opportunity zones rather than investing in them. Opportunity zones, which began as a little-noticed section in the 2017 tax reform law…

Real Estate Investment Firm Founder Honored for Major Miami Hotel Deal

The National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD), recently honored Raoul Thomas, the founder and CEO of the CGI Merchant Group for his part in the successful opening of The Gabriel Miami, a new Miami hotel. Thomas partnered with Hilton to open the downtown Miami hotel—now part of Hilton’s ‘Curio Collection’ of one-of-a-kind boutique hotels.