South Florida’s suburbs dominate ranking of the top multifamily deals

Three of the top five multifamily transactions occurred in Miami-Dade County. In August 2017, TA Realty picked up the 398-unit Manor CityPlace in Doral for $135 million. The Boston-based REIT, which typically focuses on office and industrial, paid $339,196 per apartment. The Related Group, Shoma Group and PGIM Real Estate Investors developed the luxury six-story apartment building as part of the…

NYL Investors buys Brickell City Tower for $117 million

New York Life Investors just paid $117.25 million for the Brickell City Tower, property records show. A joint venture between Banyan Street Capital, Independencia Asset Management and Crocker Partners sold the 33-story, 291,554-square-foot office tower at 80 Southwest Eighth Street to Madison OFC Brickell FL LLC, an affiliate of NYL. The buyer manages fixed income and real estate assets, and is owned…

Sale Of $117M Downtown Tower Illustrates How Miami Office Market Is Thriving

The $117M sale of a 33-year-old, 87% leased Brickell office tower, closed last week, is yet another sign of investors’ growing appetite for downtown Miami office real estate. Courtesy: CBRE Brickell City Tower, built in 1985, recently renovated and sold in September 2018 for $117M Brickell City Tower traded for just over $117M to NYL Investors from sellers Banyan Street Capital, Independencia Asset…

Waldorf Astoria Coming to Miami

In a sign of strength for South Florida’s hospitality market, the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts is opening its first Miami location in what would become one of the tallest buildings on the East Coast. The Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami, at 300 Biscayne Boulevard, is planned as part of a mixed-use development that also would include about 400 condominiums. The building would stand at 1,049 feet…

Miami’s First Waldorf Astoria Will Be In A Supertall

Miami’s first supertall tower, to be built at 300 Biscayne Blvd. in downtown, will carry the iconic Waldorf Astoria brand. Courtesy: Property Markets Group Rendering of the planned Waldorf Astoria tower in Miami, set to reach over 1,000 feet tall. The building, designed at 1,049 feet and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration last year, would be higher than Miami’s current tallest building, the 868-foot…

Video: WeWork Senior Account Executive Ben Rickets Discusses Downtown Miami Presence, Plans

In this video, Ben Rickets, Senior Account Executive at WeWork Miami, briefly discusses is presence in downtown Miami and the Miami overall, and touches on its plans going forward. As he talks, the camera pans around their space, attractively designed, as WeWork spaces tend to be. WeWork is an American company dedicated to providing shared workspaces, to supporting technology startup subculture…

The Economic Risk of Yield Curve Inversion—and How to Avoid It

The possibility of nominal yield curve inversion—which occurs when the nominal interest rates on shorter-term government debt are higher than those on longer-term government debt—has drawn more attention from policymakers and financial markets in recent months.1 I see this potential inversion as a key issue in U.S. monetary policy in the near term. A Flattening Yield Curve: While the spread…

MMG Equity Partners Acquires Pinecrest Center in Pinecrest, FL

MMG Equity Partners has acquired Pinecrest Center, a 34,306 SF mixed-use shopping center located at 11975 South Dixie Highway, Pinecrest, FL for a purchase price of $9,725,000 or $284/SF. Drew Kristol and Kirk Olson, both Senior Vice Presidents of Investments and Associate Jean-Baptiste Ramet from Marcus & Millichap’s Miami office represented the Seller, a family owned investment group.

Bus depot in Omni beneath a Genting hotel rolls ahead

The plan for a brand new bus terminal in the Omni neighborhood can advance after the recent move by the City of Miami to approve a street closure. At their Sept. 27 meeting, city commissioners approved a requested street closure of Northeast 14th Terrace between Biscayne Boulevard and North Bayshore Drive. The resolution will discontinue public use of the street. Resorts World Miami LLC and…

$200,000 check stalls Virginia Key marinas eviction by city

The City of Miami’s eviction of the private operator of its marina on Virginia Key is on hold, after Rickenbacker Marina Inc. had its attorney show up at City Hall with a six-figure check in hand. The city commission approved a motion from Joe Carollo to stay the eviction order for now, upon the acceptance of a $200,000 cashier’s check delivered to the city to cover additional rent of the city-owned marina.

North Beach Town Center plans stretch skyward

The North Beach Town Center development is another step closer to having some buildings that are 200 feet tall. The Miami Beach City Commission’s Land Use and Development Committee voted Sept. 28 to accept the city staff’s recommendation to allow buildings up to 200 feet tall in the development. The ordinance will come for a second reading before the full commission in November but there is still…

Price tag due for Coral Gables public safety building

Construction manager the Weitz Company is to set a guaranteed maximum price for Coral Gables’ new public safety building by mid-October. The price tag is to include Aecom Technical Services design plans and pay for architects and engineers. The project continues its design development stage after city officials sought a fresh start in 2015 out of its Brutalist-style home at 2801 Salzedo St. Construction…

Miami approves creating parklets in city parking spaces

Miami city leaders are willing to try out a program designed to take back sections of paved street downtown devoted to parking and give it back to the people. The Miami City Commission on a split vote of 3-to-2 on Sept. 27 approved a one-year pilot program for parklets. The idea is to extend sidewalk depth and use the dedicated parklet space for people, from tables and chairs for an upfront and…

Prestige partnership plans $100 million rental complex to replace mobile home park

A joint venture between Prestige Companies and Summit Property Group is planning a $100 million multifamily community next to the planned Ludlam Trail, The Real Deal has learned. The partners want to develop 600 to 800 apartments in addition to commercial space on nearly 8 acres of land on the northwest corner of Southwest 12th Street and Southwest 70th Avenue, just south of Miami International…

Coral Gables Restaurant Row Project Scores Loan, Other Restaurant News

The developer of 120 Giralda Avenue, a retail and restaurant project on “Restaurant Row” in Coral Gables, secured a $6.25 million mortgage from City National Bank of Florida. 120 Giralda LLC, controlled by Marc and Barry Schwarzberg of Maven Real Estate, is redeveloping the building. The company acquired the property last year from the Church of Scientology for $5.8 million. The renovation…

Will the new NAFTA deal benefit the real estate industry?

Tariffs on imported steel have hit the construction industry nationwide but the newly-minted trade deal between the U.S. and Canada may not provide the needed relief, at least not immediately. With the final piece hammered out Sunday night, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in 1994. President Trump has long denounce…

Exclusive: Fort Lauderdale Office Tower Fetching $108.5 Million

A prominent office tower in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is set to change hands this week. A group that includes institutional investor PCCP LLC and the NAI/Merin Hunter Codman brokerage in West Palm Beach, Florida, is buying 1 E. Broward Blvd. for $108.5 million, or about $308 per square foot, a source said. The new price tag is more than double its previous sales price of $42 million…

Video: Fordham University’s Hugh Kelly, Ph.D Submits Outlook for Commercial Real Estate

Special Advisor for Fordham University’s Real Estate Institute Hugh Kelly, Ph.D, appears on America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to talk about his outlook for the commercial real estate industry. Among the topics discussed are economic trends and legislative changes, strategies for commercial property investors when economic growth slows, opportunities presented by lower valuation in stressed…

Fed Charts: Job and Wage Growth Since the Great Recession

Wage growth since the beginning of the Great Recession has been slow. In the figure below, the average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees in the U.S. are presented over the last four recession-recovery periods as defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. For each period, the lowest point in wage growth is identified and then centered at zero. As can be seen, over the…

Tropical Foods beefs up in Doral; other corporate leasing news

Global food distributor Tropical Foods LLC is beefing up its lease in Doral. The company, which works with brands like Baileys, Blue Diamond Almonds and Hershey’s Milk & Shakes, just doubled its space at International Corporate Park. Tropical Foods now occupies 64,000 square feet at 1665 Northwest 102nd Avenue. Records show the landlord is a partnership led by a company tied to Global…

Parking — who needs it? Miami gives initial nod to small-scale development incentives in Wynwood

A measure aimed at encouraging single-lot owners in Wynwood to redevelop their properties by relaxing their parking requirements is one step away from being implemented. The Miami City Commission last week narrowly voted 3-2 to approve the proposed legislation, which is backed by the Wynwood Business Improvement District. Commissioners have to vote on it one more time to make it…

Audio: The Real Deal discusses dirty money in South Florida real estate

For The Real Deal’s latest subscriber conference call, editor-at-large Hiten Samtani spoke and reporter Keith Larsen gave readers an inside look at our fall issue’s blockbuster cover story, “See no evil: How a culture of secrecy boosts South Florida’s condo market.” Check out the SoundCloud player to listen to the full conversation, and be sure to keep an eye out for more information about our next conference…

Key Waterfront Project in Coconut Grove Gets Financing

A new $33 million loan will help finance construction of a mixed-use project that the developer says will serve as a sorely needed waterfront centerpiece in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami. FirstBank Florida provided the financing package to The TREO Group, a Miami-based real estate investment firm that is building Regatta Harbour at 3385 Pan American Drive. The project will offer…

Construction starts on 7-story self-storage building in Allapattah

A Fort Lauderdale-based commercial real estate firm got a $9.8 million loan and started construction of seven-story self-storage building in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood. Generation4 Partners started building a SpaceSpace Storage facility after an affiliate of the firm… The 143,080-square-foot SpareSpace Storage facility at 644 Northwest 30th Street is expected to open for business in the summer of 2019.

EB-5 extended again — until after midterm elections

The EB-5 program, which was set to expire at the end of this month, has been extended until the beginning of December. The controversial visa program, which was due to reach the end of its six-month extension period on Sunday, Sept. 30,  has been reauthorized through Dec. 7. President Trump signed the extension Friday at noon, as part of a spending package to avoid a federal government…

Miami Gardens office complex listed at $88 per square foot

An office complex in Miami Gardens has been listed for sale with a $16.9 million asking price, or $88 per square foot. Despite its 74 percent occupancy rate, the three-building complex yields net operating income equal to 7 percent of the asking price… the Miami Gardens office property at 18425 Northwest Second Avenue, called Lincoln & Washington Square…

Generator Hostels opens first U.S. location in Miami Beach

Generator Hostels last week opened its first U.S. location in a former Miami Beach condominium. The London-based company opened Generator Hostel Miami in a refurbished eight-story building at 3120 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, previously known as Atlantic Princess Condominium. Generator Hostel Miami has 105 rooms with 300 beds and provides daily housekeeping. Introductory daily rates range…

Miami-Dade OKs Dolphin Expressway extension through the Everglades

“Another sexy highway” is one step closer to becoming a reality After winning preliminary approvals in June, a controversial plan to extend the Dolphin Expressway through the Everglades to West Kendall was OK’d by Miami-Dade commissioners on Thursday by a 9-4 vote. The 13-mile project, according to critics, defies sound urban planning practices and threatens natural ecosystems. Earlier this year, the so…

Supertall Waldorf Astoria hotel and condo tower pitched for downtown

The project is aiming to take the title of the city’s tallest building Downtown’s skyline could reach new heights thanks to a supertall tower unveiled by developers on Friday. Dubbed the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Residences, the combination hotel and condo skyscraper slated for 300 Biscayne Boulevard represents the Waldorf Astoria brand’s first foray into the Miami market. The project comes from New York…

PMG to build Waldorf Astoria tower in downtown Miami

The Waldorf Astoria is coming to downtown Miami. New York-based Property Markets Group signed a contract with the landmark hotel flag to build a Waldorf Astoria hotel-condo tower at 300 Biscayne Boulevard. The skyscraper, designed by Miami-based Sieger Suarez Architects as a stack of glass cubes, is projected to reach a total sellout of more than $1 billion, developer Ryan Shear told Bloomberg.

Rental prices are inching up — but there are still plenty of bargains

Yes, apartment rents are on the rise. But it’s becoming a renter’s market across many U.S. metro areas, where landlords are expecting more supply. Rents rose 2.9 percent in the third quarter, versus a year earlier, the Wall Sreet Journal reported. That’s also an increase from 2.5 percent in the second quarter. The boost comes from factors including a weaker sales market — tight supply nationally has driven…

Miami’s Development Spillover Leads Residents of a Tiny Nearby Town to Rail Against Getting a Free Municipal Center

A developer wants to build Class A offices and retail as part of a new governmental complex in the town of Surfside, Florida.   Credit: Pointe Development Company. In a one-square-mile seaside town bordering Miami Beach that’s attracted celebrities and notables from Frank Sinatra to Winston Churchill, residents these days are angry over a problem that less wealthy communities might like to have…

Tricera Capital sells retail space at X Miami to Exan Capital

Tricera Capital just sold the ground-floor retail space at X Miami to Exan Capital for $6.3 million in an off-market deal. Miami-based Tricera entered into a preconstruction contract last year to buy the retail units at 230 Northeast Fourth Street in downtown Miami from Property Markets Group for more than $3 million, Tricera co-founders and managing partners Scott Sherman and Ben Mandell said. They closed…

SoFla commercial construction starts rise in August, but resi drops

South Florida construction starts fell slightly in August on a year-over-year basis. Total building activity declined 7 percent to $703 million, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Residential construction starts plunged 20 percent to $327.8 million, while commercial construction increased 10 percent to 375.2 million in August, compared to August 2017. On a year-to-date basis, construction starts rose 11 percent…

Edgewater investor sells development site on Biscayne Boulevard

An Edgewater investor sold a development site on Biscayne Boulevard and 34th Street in Miami to a company tied to DLC Capital Management. Miami Sunrise Properties, led by Jose Afonso Assumpção, sold six contiguous parcels at 234, 242, 250, 254, 264 and 272 Northeast 34th Street for $11.5 million to 3350 Biscayne LLC. The buyer lists a mailbox at a UPS Store in Miami Beach that’s tied to Jamie…

When is there a modification to a contract under Florida law?

People and businesses in Florida enter into a variety of different contracts each year. The types of contracts depend on the type of business, but every contract involves at least two parties each agreeing to do something or pay for something in exchange for the other party doing something. At the very basic level this is the basis of every contract, but the actions required to actually execute the terms…

Miami Marine Stadium plan ‘going forward,’ but it’s late

The architect hired to bring Miami Marine Stadium back to life says his team is “going forward nicely” with restoration. Richard J. Heisenbottle offered a status report during a Sept. 20 community workshop on the Marine Stadium Flex Park, the land and shoreline hugging the iconic concrete stadium on Virginia Key. “We are in the design-development phase now,” Mr. Heisenbottle told a crowded…

I-395 signature bridge bringing illuminated park downtown

When the I-395 “signature bridge” is finally in place about five years from now, Miami will have not only the landmark span that’s been talked about for years but also a 30-acre illuminated park beneath the new road, said James Wolfe, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation’s District Six. Speaking to directors of Miami’s Downtown Development Authority last week, Mr. Wolfe said the new…

JP Morgan Chase adding branches in Miami, Other Florida Cities

JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday announced plans to expand its Sunshine State footprint over the next three years with 35 branches, including 10 across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The announcement was made precisely 10 years after the company broke into the Florida market with the acquisition of Washington Mutual on Sept. 25, 2008. “We are continuing to fill in gaps across the state so…”

Marine Stadium flex park ideas greeted coolly

“We need to reclaim the space, without sacrificing what we have.” That seemed to be the consensus shared by many members of the public who attended a Sept. 20 community workshop hosted by City of Miami planning department officials and a private urban design team working on a plan for the Marine Stadium Flex Park. The so-called flex park is the land and shoreline hugging the long-idled Miami…

Doral Office Building Hits The Market

A broker announced the exclusive listing of 2500 Building, a 97,476-square foot office property located in Doral, according to Scott Lunine, Regional Manager of the firm’s Miami office. The asset is listed for $14,750,000. 2500 Building is located at 2500 NW 79th Avenue. The 2500 Building offers a very strong value add opportunity with huge upside in occupancy and redevelopment potential. The 5.06 acre…

Developer secures $228 million in bond financing for project near FIU bridge collapse

The developer of University Bridge Residences, a planned student housing project next to the Florida International University pedestrian bridge that collapsed earlier this year, raised nearly $228 million in bond financing to complete the project, and has transferred ownership to a nonprofit. Global City Development sold the property at 740 Southwest 109th Avenue to…

The Fed raises interest rates by a quarter percentage point

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday to between 2 and 2.5 percent, a move that is expected to push up the cost of borrowing for commercial and residential loans. The 0.25 percent hike is the third so far this year, following raises in March and June. The Fed opted not to increase…

CPA Firm to Anchor New Mixed-Use Project in Suburban Miami

The Kaufman Rossin CPA firm will take nearly 65,000 square feet of office space at the mixed-use Mary Street building in Coconut Grove, Florida. A certified public accounting firm has agreed to lease nearly 65,000 square feet at a mixed-use development in Coconut Grove, Florida, the first new non-medical office space in that suburban Miami market in more than 20 years. Kaufman Rossin…

Coconut Grove Mixed-Use Lands Anchor Tenant

Mayfair Real Estate Advisors and Terra Group have secured an anchor tenant at Mary Street, a mixed-use development taking shape in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. Advisory firm Kaufman Rossin agreed to occupy 64,666 square feet at the Class A project. Developers are transforming a former parking garage, with delivery slated for mid-2019. Kaufman Rossin will lease the building’s top…

Trump’s Miami Golf Resort Revenues Have Plummeted Since He Became President

Lately, business has been good for luxury hotels in Miami. Revenues rose 4 percent in 2017, according to Forbes. But one Miami-area luxury club hasn’t seen that same revenue jump, and it’s not exactly hard to guess why. According to a major report today from Forbes, hotel revenues at the Trump National Doral, arguably the Donald’s golf flagship, have dropped like a stone since Trump became president.

Watch Your Back, WeWork: Landlords Move To Cut Out Middleman, Offer Coworking Themselves

Miami has finally shed its reputation as a place for people to retire. In the past 10 years, the city has seen an influx of people with bachelor’s degrees, and an entrepreneurial ecosystem has been evolving. Bisnow/Deirdra Funcheon Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was the keynote speaker at Bisnow’s annual State of the Market event September 2018. The arrival of new-to-market tenants has created an…

PMG Receives $106M Refinancing for 464-Unit X Miami Apartment Tower

Property Markets Group has received a $106 million refinancing for X Miami, a 464-unit multifamily community in downtown Miami. Pacific Western Bank provided the financing, which will pay off an existing $80 million construction loan from Centennial Bank. The 31-story tower that recently opened features units with floor-to-ceiling windows, large balconies, built-in closets, Nest thermostats and…

Little Haiti Activists Slam Huge Magic City Development, Ask City to Delay Vote

The proposed Magic City Innovation District development would instantly transform Little Haiti from an area of Caribbean immigrants and small local shops into a glitzy, landlocked version of Miami Beach. Though Little Haiti is already gentrifying at a rapid clip, locals worry the development would guarantee that the last stretch of affordable housing in the area would skyrocket in cost. Now, as the city…

Edgewater’s Missoni Baia condos begin 649-foot climb

The waterfront high-rise project is going vertical After nearly a year of below ground work, the 57-story Missoni Baia condominium tower is beginning its skyward climb at 777 NE 26th Terrace in Edgewater. The start of vertical construction follows some serious foundation work comprising more than 345 tons of steel-reinforcing bars, 2,250 cubic yards of poured concrete, and 190 individual piles driven a…

Miami 15th in the USA for Office Property Construction Starts with 2 Million SF in Deliveries YTD

At almost halfway through the last half of 2018, it’s time to check up on construction activity and the office properties pipeline in Miami and around the country. According to information tracked by CRE research and data platform Yardi Matrix, nationally new office and mixed-use projects encompassing roughly 101 million square feet are on track for 2018. Almost 42 million square feet of that total was…

Construction worker dies after possible electrocution at Midtown 8

A construction worker at Midtown 8 in Miami died on Tuesday afternoon after he was possibly electrocuted while working on the building’s elevator system. Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll said the worker was transported from the construction site on the southeast corner of Northeast 30th Street and First Avenue to Ryder Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead. Atlanta-based…

Terra scores Kaufman Rossin as main tenant at Mary Street

Kaufman Rossin just inked a lease to become the main office tenant in Terra’s Mary Street project in Coconut Grove. The Coconut Grove-based accounting and advisory firm, one of South Florida’s largest, signed a 15-year lease with options to renew to occupy 64,666 square feet in the planned Class A office building at 2860 Oak Avenue. The entire 77,840 square feet of office space in the building is now fully…

Michael Dell’s MSD Capital buying 1 Hotel South Beach for more than $500M

Billionaire Michael Dell’s MSD Capital is buying 1 Hotel South Beach for about $500 million, or more than $1 million per key. Starwood Capital Group, led by Barry Sternlicht, is selling the beachfront 426-key hotel at 2341 Collins Avenue for about $1.2 million a room, according to the Commercial Observer. The deal, which is reportedly in contract, would set a record for hotel sales in Miami, beating out…

The Billion-Dollar Magic City Innovation District Is Coming To Little Haiti. But What The Heck Is It?

The Miami City Commission will vote this Thursday on a billion-dollar real estate project in Little Haiti. The Magic City Innovation District, which will be headquartered at 6001 NE Second Avenue, is a massive development projected to take 10 to 15 years to complete. Its developers hope it will propel the Little Haiti area into an international draw for tourists, creatives and tech companies according to…

7 Reasons Why South Florida Remains One of the Most Attractive Commercial Real Estate Markets

Historically, Florida has been one of the strongest commercial real estate markets in the country, with continually solid returns and safety for the capital of global & domestic investors. Within the state, South Florida commercial real estate leads the way supported by strong population growth and tax-friendly laws. It’s not just the population growth that makes it an…

Doral Warehouse Located Next To Miami International Airport Trades For $7.4M

State Street Realty and Parvani Commercial Group, two Miami-based brokerage and advisory firms working on behalf of the seller, have closed on the sale of a warehouse property located next to the Miami International Airport. The property, which traded for $7,400,000, totals 46,488 square feet and is well-located at 8975 NW 26 Street in Doral. State Street Realty Vice President Frank Trelles, SIOR…

Philip Levine and Scott Robins propose mixed-use hotel in Wynwood

More hotels are planned for Wynwood, as the artsy district continues to transform into a residential neighborhood. Fresh off their multimillion-dollar Sunset Harbour sale, Miami Beach developer and former gubernatorial candidate Philip Levine and his real estate partner Scott Robins filed plans with the city of Miami for a residential and hotel project in Wynwood. Levine submitted a permit for a…

How Opportunity Zones Help with Economic Development

The Opportunity Zones program—the first new community development tax incentive program enacted since the Clinton administration—has the potential to generate an influx of capital in distressed communities. At the same time, concerns have been raised about the potential unintended consequences of the program. Two examples of these concerns include: Displacement; Concentration in high-cost…

Pinnacle sells North Miami Beach apartments to Treetop Development

Pinnacle Housing Group just sold one of its affordable housing complexes in North Miami Beach for $24.5 million to Treetop Development, property records show. New Jersey-based Treetop paid about $108,000 per unit for Pinnacle Lakes at 18701 Northeast Third Court using the companies, TriSun 57th Avenue LLC and TT Family Pinnacle LLC. Treetop financed the deal with a $16.95 million…

Treo Group scores $33 million loan for Dinner Key redevelopment in Coconut Grove

The Treo Group just secured construction financing for a mixed-use project covering more than 9.5 waterfront acres of city-owned land in Coconut Grove. Treo closed on Friday on a $33 million loan from FirstBank of Florida for Regatta Harbour, which is under construction, said Otto Boudet-Murias, a principal at the Miami-based firm. The Dinner Key site includes the former Scotty’s Landing restaurant, now…

TREO Group Receives $33M Construction Loan for Mixed-Use Waterfront Project in Miami’s Coconut Grove

The TREO Group has received a $33 million loan from FirstBank Florida for the construction of Regatta Harbour, a mixed-use waterfront development located in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. The project will be located at Dinner Key, a marina complex situated along the shore of Biscayne Bay. Upon completion, the 100,000-square-foot development will include retail space, three waterfront restaurants…

South Florida by the numbers: Miami real estate and cars connection

“South Florida by the numbers” is a web feature that catalogs the most notable, quirky and surprising real estate statistics. We may not be the biggest gearheads here at SFBTN headquarters, but we do love those cars. And since our tastes run a bit fancy, we are big fans of the recent trend of international automakers putting their brands and identities into Miami real estate. As we cruise the city streets with our…

See no evil: How a culture of secrecy boosts South Florida’s condo market

A lawyer with ties to Venezuela’s oil ministry, a member of the country’s “boliburguesía” elite and a money launderer sat around a Caracas office table while armed guards and a German shepherd with a shock collar stood watch. The boliburgués placed his handgun on the table. It was November 2015, and the three Venezuelans were pressuring an unnamed associate to persist with a scheme that United…

Crocker and Chicago-based firm take over partnership that owns Miami business park

Crocker Partners and Walton Street Capital took over a limited partnership that owns Landing at MIA, a 1.52 million-square-foot business park near Miami International Airport. Angelo Bianco, managing partner of Boca Raton-based Crocker Partners, confirmed that his firm and Chicago-based Walton Street Capital acquired the property by taking control of the partnership. Bianco declined to comment on…

Seven-acre, mixed-use development in Coral Gables advances to construction phase

The developers held a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony for The Plaza Coral Gables, a seven-acre mixed-use development on Ponce de Leon Boulevard. Agave Ponce, LLC is the company behind the 2.25 million-square-foot development with offices, retail stores, restaurants and residences, plus a 242-key hotel and 2,050 parking spaces. CallisonRTKL created the architectural design of the…

Last phase of Coral Gables mixed-use development adds 33 condos

The residential phase of a mixed-use development in Coral Gables opened with 19 of its 33 condominium units unsold. Prices start in the $900,000s for the remaining unsold units, which include a full-floor penthouse. The developers got a temporary certificate of occupancy for the residential tower, completing the mixed-use Giralda Place development with 57,000 square feet of previously built office space.

Petition could allow Miami Beach to annex two islands along the Venetian Causeway

Residents of two of the six artificial islands along the Venetian Causeway are circulating petition to allow Miami Beach to annex them. The Miami-Dade County planning board and county commissioners would have to approve a proposed annexation of Biscayne and San Marco, the two westernmost islands along the Venetian Causeway between South Beach and downtown Miami. The county code also…

A closer look at Jean Nouvel’s Monad Terrace

The South Beach development is the French architect’s first and only residential project in Florida As vertical construction continues on SoBe’s Monad Terrace, the team behind the unique waterfront development has released fresh renderings showing new angles of its dramatic design from Pritzker Prize-winning French architect Jean Nouvel. The images provide the best glimpse yet of the project which…

Habitat Group plans another mixed-use project in West Brickell

Habitat Group, which is developing the mixed-use complex Smart Brickell, just bought another development site in West Brickell where it plans to build a hotel and condo project, The Real Deal has learned. The firm, led by president and CEO Santiago Vanegas, paid $14.5 million for an apartment building at 143 Southwest Ninth Street in Miami. Vanegas said plans are to replace the existing building with…

Zom lists Monarc at Met downtown Miami apartment tower for sale

Zom is looking to sell a luxury apartment tower in downtown Miami that could fetch “well over $200 million,” according to CBRE listing broker Still Hunter. The apartment developer completed Monarc at Met, a 462-unit, 32-story building at 201 Southeast Second Avenue, in November 2016. Zom purchased the air rights to develop the rental portion from MDM Development Group, the master developer of…

Prologis Beacon Centre Business Park secures 28,000 sf of leases, Other News in Leasing

Prologis Beacon Centre Business Park, a 205-acre business park in Miami’s Airport/Doral submarket, just secured 27,775 square feet of leases through four separate transactions. Of the four, two were new, including Pharma-Wholesale Corp.’s 3,600-square-foot lease at 1904 Northwest 84th Avenue and America-Loving Care Home Health’s 4,600-square-foot lease at 1900 Northwest 84th Avenue. Church World…

Lionheart Capital proposes 2 new mixed-use buildings in Design District

Lionheart Capital is looking to speed up development of a pair of commercial buildings in the Design District, according documents filed with the city of Miami. Flagler Holding Group, a company managed by Lionheart founding partner Ricardo Dunin, is seeking approval of a development agreement that the developer will comply with the special area plan for the Design District. Lionheart previously obtained…

Ronny Finvarb scores approval for Miami Beach hotel near convention center

Miami Beach developer Ronny Finvarb secured the final approval for a Thompson Hotels-branded hotel near the Miami Beach Convention Center. Finvarb Group returned to the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board on Monday for a vote on the Symphony Park hotel at 1685 Washington Avenue. After delaying approval in June amid concerns over the size and style of the building and how it relates to the…

Video: Reis Chief Economist & VP of Research Victor Calanog on the Future of Commercial Real Estate

Reis Chief Economist & Vice President of Research, Dr. Victor Calanog, joins Michael Bull on his show to discuss his outlook on trends in commercial real estate, including interests rates, tax reform, and where we are in the economic cycle. He talks about the effect of recent tax law changes on commercial property, makes some predictions about the future, and more. Dr. Calanog’s firm, Reis, is the leading…

NFL star Elvis Dumervil is betting big on North Miami real estate

During his 12-year National Football League career, Elvis Dumervil tackled his way to success with teams like the Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. He signed four multimillion-dollar contracts — but he knew the money and the profession wouldn’t last forever. “I knew football was a great opportunity, but I knew it was a job, not a career – there’s a big difference,” Dumervil…

Alex Karakhanian teams with NY investors on luxury Wynwood hotel

Developer Alex Karakhanian is partnering with Wynwood Investment Partners to build a mixed-use hotel in Wynwood. The joint venture, called Triumph Wynwood, plans to develop the 1.2-acre site at 51 Northwest 29th Street into a 12-story hotel with more than 300,000 square feet of space, a 60,000-square-foot Class A office component and 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The luxury lifestyle…

Miami Storage Facility Lands $10 Million Construction Loan

Walker & Dunlop has structured $9.8 million in financing for the construction of SpareSpace Storage in Miami. The firm worked with sponsor Generation4 Partners to place the debt assignment. The project is slated for completion by the summer of 2019. Located in the Wynwood/Allapattah neighborhood, the development will be less than 1 mile from Mana Wynwood, a roughly 24-acre assemblage…

Graham Cos. Picks AIG for $120 Million Loan on Miami Lakes Real Estate

Graham Cos., the developer of much of Miami Lakes, refinanced 29 properties in the northwest Miami-Dade County town. The lender? American International Group Inc., the New York-based global insurer. AIG provided a $120 million, 15-year loan. The long term is exactly why Graham Cos. decided to go with an alternative lender instead of a commercial bank. “Your normal banks and those kinds of lenders…

Basic requirements for a non-disclosure agreement

There are many different types of businesses in Florida. These businesses offer a variety of goods and services for people throughout the world. However, many businesses offer similar goods and services, and in some industries there can be a lot of competition. In many instances, each company has certain aspects that are unique just to that company, even if other companies are similar. These unique…

Carlyle JV sells Miami-Dade self-storage portfolio for $100 million

An entity tied to William Warren Group just paid $100 million for three self-storage buildings spread throughout Miami-Dade County. Property records show CRP/Westport Self Storage Dixie, a joint venture between the Carlyle Group and Westport Properties that operates as US Storage Centers, sold the buildings. The self-storage facilities are located in Kendall, North Miami and North Miami Beach. Records…

Berkadia Arranges $45.8M Acquisition Loan for Apartment Tower Along Miami River

Berkadia has arranged a $45.8 million bridge loan for the acquisition of River Oaks Marina & Tower, a 199-unit apartment community located along the Miami River at 1951 N.W. S. River Drive in Miami. Charles Foschini and Christopher Apone of Berkadia arranged the three-year, floating-rate loan through a correspondent life company on behalf of the buyer, a Miami-based real estate investment firm.

Sunny Isles Beach’s ultra high-end condo market has a big inventory problem: report

Sunny Isles Beach is saddled with 17 years of inventory of condos priced at $5 million and up, and overall, Miami-Dade County faces nearly five years of supply of high-end units, according to a new report. Of the 348 units listed for sale on the Southeast Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service as of Aug. 31, about 30 percent, or 103 units, are in Sunny Isles Beach. Based on the six recorded sales between…

PMG nabs $106 million loan for downtown Miami rental tower

Property Markets Group secured a $106 million loan for X Miami, a recently completed rental tower in downtown Miami. Pacific Western Bank is providing the financing, which will be used to pay off an existing $80 million loan for the 32-story, 462-unit building at 240 Northeast Fourth Street, according to a press release. Centennial Bank was PMG’s construction lender. PMG’s Andrew Warman, Jonathan…

Why title insurance firms are paying close attention to the latest Russian sanctions bill

A U.S. Treasury Department program that spotlights anonymous real estate purchases in a number of gateway cities could become a nationwide law if a Russian sanctions bill is passed. The little-known provision in the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2018, a bipartisan bill introduced to the Senate last month, would force title insurance companies to report the…

Neil Hasu Shah: Grows the 50-hotel empire of Hersha Hospitality Trust

As president and COO of Hersha Hospitality Trust, Neil Shah manages a portfolio of 50 hotels totaling 7,666 rooms in South Florida, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, select West Coast markets and Washington, DC. Mr. Shah, who in 2006 took over his family’s business with his brother, CEO Jay Shah, has since 2000 led the acquisitions, development and asset management for the company, founded in 1984 by…

North Miami’s Chinatown works on incubator linkup

North Miami’s Chinatown is working on a collaboration among the city, Trinity Church and the business school at Johnson & Wales University. This project, which will manifest physically around the end of this year, is to be an entrepreneurial “incubator” in the Chinatown corridor, said North Miami City Manager Larry Spring. The space could also include a welcome center for investors, visitors and residents…

Lagging North Beach moves closer to ‘renaissance’

The Miami Beach Town Center – a North Beach area that hasn’t had significant development in 25 years – came one step closer to its “renaissance” last week when the city commission managed to pass two resolutions allowing for taller buildings while setting standards for planned micro-residences. The plans sparked controversy, with Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez calling the changes “a classic…”

Is it curtains for Coconut Grove Playhouse revival?

For years now, as preservationists have fought Miami-Dade County’s plan to redevelop the Coconut Grove Playhouse as a 300-seat theater and as uninvited third parties have pushed their own plans, the county has responded by pointing to its long-term lease of the historic property from the state. But now the county is in real danger of losing its control of the playhouse, as the state has threatened…

Miami orders Virginia Key marinas operator to vacate

The City of Miami is ordering the operator to vacate the Rickenbacker Marina on Virginia Key. It’s the latest move in a years-long controversy over who will run the city-owned site. City commissioners took the action Sept. 13, with a plan to have city employees temporarily take over operations while they prepare to award a contract to a new private company to redevelop the marina and the…

Alabama investor buys Shalimar Motel in MiMo

The Shalimar Motel on Biscayne Boulevard in Miami’s MiMo District will get a facelift after selling for $6.3 million. Sandip Patel, a hotel investor from Alabama who recently moved to Miami, just bought the 49-room motel at 6200 Biscayne Boulevard, said Ahmed Kabani of Marcus & Millichap, who represented Patel. Robert Bhat of Marcus & Millichap arranged a $4.1 million loan from U.S. Century Bank to…

OSHA fines contractors of FIU bridge that collapsed

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the contractors involved in the Florida International University bridge that collapsed earlier this year, killing six people. OSHA fined Figg Bridge Engineers, Munilla Construction Management, Bolton Perez & Associates, Structural Technologies in Homestead and the Structural Group of South Florida $86,658 for seven worker-safety violations…

South Florida’s largest multifamily investment sales in August

Large out-of-state investors are continuing to see value in South Florida’s multifamily market. In August, a number of institutional investors bought apartments at a significant markup from their previous price.The largest sale of the month was the $71.3 million deal of The Latitudes at the Moors, an apartment complex that TIAA purchased near Hialeah. Many of the top deals are for properties outside…

Wells Fargo expects CRE lending to decrease while bank copes with fallout from scandals

Wells Fargo expects its book of commercial real estate loans to shrink as the bank struggles with governance issues. CFO John Shrewsberry said during a conference Friday that he expects commercial real estate and industrial loans to fall from second-quarter levels, the Wall Street Journal reported. Shrewsberry pointed to the bank’s deliberate lending discipline and a…

Lissette Calderon returns to the Miami River with $61 million deal

Developer Lissette Calderon closed on the River Oaks Tower & Marina for about $61 million with plans to renovate the waterfront apartment building. The deal marks Calderon’s return to real estate after leaving the Related Group in 2016, and to the Miami River, where she developed Neo Lofts, Neo Vertika and other buildings dating back 15 years. Calderon’s firm, Neology Life, closed on the 199-unit…

Site of planned office project in Coconut Grove hits the market

The development site of a planned office project in Coconut Grove just hit the market. LointerHome principal Marco de Souza is looking to sell the 21,000-square-foot development site at 3151 Southwest 27th Avenue for $5.5 million. De Souza and his partner Amanda De Seta planned to build 27@Lincoln, a five-story, 68,000-square-foot Class A office building with ground floor retail space and an…

Mixed-use Causeway Village project moves forward in North Miami

Taubco’s Causeway Village project is back on track after more than five years in the works. Nearly two years after the developer secured the OK from a North Miami planning commission, the city’s town council greenlit the same land-use amendment, allowing the mixed-use project to keep moving through the approval process. It’s the first step to include the parcel in a district just west of a zone that allows…

No Announcement, But Jeff Bezos Still Says Amazon HQ2 Will Be Decided By Year-End

More than 1,000 D.C. business leaders were on hand Thursday evening in the hopes of hearing a big announcement from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, but the richest man in the world declined to give any new information on his company’s search for a second headquarters. “We will announce the decision before the end of this year,” Bezos told the Economic Club of Washington D.C. “We’ve made tremendous…”

Developer unveils short-term rental condo project near Dolphin Mall

Rems Group Inc. just unveiled plans for Residences at Dolphin Citi Center, a Doral condo project set to rise between Dolphin Mall and International Mall. Robert Lechter, a partner at Rems, said the 113-unit, eight-story condo building will allow short- and medium-term rentals with a minimum three-night stay requirement. The project is planned for a nearly 4-acre lot on the southwest corner of 108th…

Miami-Area Developers Use Condominium Terminations to Deal With Land Shortage

Modest or shabby condominiums in downtown Miami and across the surrounding region are proving to be ripe for redevelopment as builders try to cope with South Florida’s land shortage. The builders are using so-called condo terminations, also known as de-conversions, to acquire a majority of the units in older buildings so they can transform the structures into…

Home builder DR Horton adds to its growing presence in South Dade

Home builder DR Horton bought vacant lots for 32 houses near Homestead, adding to its presence in south Miami-Dade County. The Arlington, Texas-based builder paid $3.04 million for the land  at the northeast corner of Southwest 308 Street and Southwest 192 Avenue in South Dade. Garden Developers LLC, run by Sergio Guardazzi, sold the land for a price that breaks down to $95,000 per lot. Garden…

After 123 years, Henri Bendel is closing its doors. And it’s leaving a lot of retail space behind

Amid sluggish sales, Henri Bendel is closing all 23 of its departments stores. Parent company L Brands announced Friday that it would be shuttering the luxury store after 123 years, CNN reported. Its 23 stores will close after the holiday season in January 2019. The move is an attempt “to improve company profitability and focus on our larger brands that have greater growth potential,” including Victoria’s…

David Edelstein paying $32 million for properties in Wynwood’s 5th Ave

David Edelstein is spending about $32 million to buy a large assemblage on Fifth Avenue in Wynwood that he eventually plans to develop into a mixed-use project, The Real Deal has learned. The New York developer is acquiring nearly two blocks on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 26th and 28th streets. The assemblage totals about 74,000 square feet, or 1.7 acres, of land. It’s near Goldman…

Brightline Gets All the Attention, But Tri-Rail’s Going Into Downtown Miami Next Year

South Florida’s new, privately run train, Brightline, grabs all the headlines (just yesterday, it announced it would run a route between Southern California and Vegas) but the region’s workhorse commuter line has its own triumph: It will be expanding into downtown Miami next year. A new 9-mile Tri-Rail route, called the Downtown Link, should be operational by Q3 2019, Tri-Rail spokesperson Bonnie Arnold…

Avra Jain, with Dragonfly Investments, picks up another MiMo motel

A partnership between Avra Jain and Dragonfly Investments just picked up a motel in the MiMo District – not too far away from Jain’s Vagabond Hotel. Property records show Jain’s Gold Dust 7700 LLC paid $6 million for Motel Blu at 7700 Biscayne Boulevard, a two-story, 60-unit building next to the cabaret nightclub Gold Rush. The deal breaks down to about $100,000 per room. Jain wrote that she and…

West Flager Associates wants a gambling venue in Edgewater, but the city wants more oversight

Miami officials moved closer to preventing owners of Magic City Casino from opening an Edgewater gambling venue that would include a jai alai court and poker room, following resident outcry over the proposal. City commissioners voted 4-1 on first reading Thursday to authorize the Miami city manager and planning department draw up changes to the Miami 21 zoning code. That new measures would…

Student-Oriented Apartments Near UM Fetching $3.95/SF Rents

The average price per square foot for rent in Florida is $1.31, according to Apartment List. But in Miami, a boutique co-living venture geared toward students is getting as much as $3.95/SF.  Orduna Court’s upscale units near the University of Miami are commanding high rents. Orduna Court, at 800 South Dixie Highway, is a 24-unit co-living property within walking distance of the University of Miami. Here…

SoFla’s biggest retail property sales in August

Commercial real estate heavyweights Blackstone Group and Stiles Corp. recorded the two priciest retail trades in South Florida in August. Another notable trade last month involved a former Toys “R” Us building in Plantation. That sale was part the company’s efforts to unload 284 of its stores after filing for bankruptcy a year ago. Overall, the retail market in South Florida has…

Booming Office Market, Soaring Apartment Rents Give Miami Developers Justified Optimism

Miami’s office market is going from strength to strength, according to Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Vice Chairman Brian Gale. “Overall, the market is very strong,” said Gale, who represents office landlords. “Some submarkets are certainly stronger than others, but we’re seeing close to single-digit vacancy for all of Miami. And the one important thing to know is there’s been a plethora of new-to-market…

The end is near: Downtown Miami’s condo cycle will likely end this year, report shows

After a more than eight-year run that changed the Magic City’s skyline, Greater Downtown Miami’s condo cycle is likely nearing the end. The Downtown Development Authority’s mid-year report, prepared by Integra Realty Resources, suggests that the cycle is coming to a close as Miami’s urban core has yet to see a new condo project break ground so far this year. The average resale prices for condos fell…

TA Realty pays $92 million for industrial portfolio in Hialeah Gardens and Medley

Hialeah’s industrial market is showing no signs of a slowdown. TA Realty just paid $92.25 million for a ten-parcel industrial portfolio in Medley and Hialeah Gardens. Miami-based commercial real estate firm Cofe Properties sold the nearly 932,500-square-foot portfolio.
Property records show Cofe bought the assemblage in 2013 for $48.3 million. South Florida’s industrial market remains strong, and…

Luxury Condo Glut Forms in Downtown Miami, Suburbs

Downtown Miami isn’t the only area in Miami-Dade County saturated with luxury condominiums, a sign buyers may be seizing control of the softening market. Sunny Isles Beach, an upscale suburb in the northeastern part of the county, has almost 600 units listed for sale at $1 million or more, according to Condo Vultures Realty, a brokerage and consulting firm. With an average of nearly 12 condos selling…

Residential On the Way at Signature Development Near Miami

Construction is due to start this month on the first residences at Dania Pointe, one of the largest mixed-use developments under way in metropolitan Miami. The first 264 of 600 apartments at Avery Dania Pointe will likely start leasing late next year and be ready for occupancy in 2020, said Stuart Meyers, chairman of project developer Meyers Group. The $800 million Dania Pointe is just off Interstate…

Video: David Madson of CBT Architects on Office Design’s Impact on a Company’s Profitability

David Madson, Principal with CBT Architects, appears on America’s Commercial Real Estate Show to discuss how the office design a business employs can impact its bottom line. Boston based CBT refers to itself a leading design firm working locally, nationally and internationally in the areas of architecture, interior design and urban design. In the video, he discusses wellness considerations…

Sale Of 2.31 Acres Negotiated In Doral

DiGiacomo Group’s Patricia Marquez negotiated the sale of an industrial land parcel totaling 2.31 acres, or 101,059 square feet, located at 10405 NW 19 Street in Doral, Florida. Buyer Inter Dolphin Property, LLC. purchased the parcel from Rarity Builders, LLC, for $2,675,000. The deal closed July 31, 2018. Marquez represented the buyer in the transaction. “The absorption rate of industrial land in the City of Doral…

Israeli firm to buy SunTrust parking garage in downtown Miami for $18M

Crocker Partners plans to sell a parking garage near the SunTrust International Center in downtown Miami to Tel Aviv-based Mishorim Development Group for $18.5 million, according to documents filed with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Crocker Partners bought the 31-story SunTrust building and the seven-story garage for a combined $82.4 million in 2011, according to property records. In May, it sold…

Commissioner ‘Crazy Joe’ Carollo takes on Little Havana developer

Go back in journalistic history to the year 2000 and there’s a little gem in The Economist about Joe Carollo, who is currently a city of Miami commissioner. “When the mayor of Miami, Joe Carollo, was a budding city commissioner in the mid-1980s, he earned the nickname ‘Crazy Joe’ for calling the police chief a ‘two-bit punk’ and for making the even bigger mistake of feuding with the Cubans’…

Skyscrapers in Miami and the USA: Fact, Figures, and Charts

Both Miami, now with the third most dense skyline in North America (video: watch it grow 1990-2016; interactive growth chart), and Sunny Isles Beach make the list of 18 cities in the USA that have at least five skyscrapers. The tallest building in Miami is the Panorama Tower, rising 868 feet, while the Muse at the 649-foot mark is the tallest in Sunny Isles. By 2021, Miami will boast an 817-foot tall tower…

Flagler, Ware Malcomb Complete Build-to-Suit Industrial Facility in Miami-Dade County for Aerospace Firm

Construction is complete on the new KLX Aerospace Solutions global headquarters and distribution hub located in Hialeah, a city in Miami-Dade County. Ware Malcomb provided master planning and architectural design services for the 700,000-square-foot project, which is part of the first phase of the planed 95-acre Countyline Corporate Park, a logistics park developed by Flagler Global Logistics.

SunTrust Bank Renews Miami CBD Office Lease

Cushman & Wakefield has arranged a roughly 25,000-square-foot lease renewal and restructure for SunTrust Bank at 777 Brickell, an office property totaling 288,485 square feet in Miami’s financial district. The longtime anchor tenant signed on for an additional 10-year term. Located at 777 Brickell Avenue, the property recently underwent an improvement program that included upgrades to the common…

Towns and cities want in on mall redevelopment game

Local governments around the country are doing what few investors will — buying up dead or underperforming mall properties. Towns and cities are scooping up the beleaguered malls with the hopes of redeveloping or repurposing them for the community, according to the Wall Street Journal. The acquisitions are often made through land banks at bargain…

Long-awaited plan for marinas on Virginia Key moving fast

With appeals and challenges from rivals exhausted, a new company’s bid to take over the marinas on Virginia Key moves forward after a year of legislative limbo. Today’s (9/13) agenda for the Miami City Commission includes two proposed resolutions that will determine the fate of Rickenbacker Marina and Marine Stadium Marina on the city-owned barrier island. The controversial matter that has lingered…

Urban Land Institute shows Miami Beach a path to resiliency

The City of Miami Beach is preparing to live with water in a much deeper way. As the climate continues toward warmer temperatures and South Florida’s coastal cities see more frequent and damaging flooding, one of Miami-Dade County’s most vulnerable cities is fighting back against the threat of flooding, rising waters and stronger storms. A part of this fight was the collaboration between Miami Beach…

Jackson Health System faces hearing on opening Doral hospital

The state received a “certificate of need” application from the Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County last week for a Jackson Health System 100-bed acute care hospital in Doral, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. The next step in the application process is a hearing before Florida Administrative Law Judge William David Watkins scheduled to begin this week.

Metronomic plans apartments to accommodate residents with varying needs

Real estate development firm Metronomic is planning to build a series of apartment rentals to accommodate residents with varying needs. The first building will rise in East Little Havana. The two-story residential developments are being designed for families with special-needs children, multigenerational families or relatives who require special care, said Metronomic president Ricky Trinidad. The projects…

SALT and a hard place: House Republicans want to make tax cuts permanent

House Republicans introduced legislation on Monday that would make the new tax cuts for individuals — set to expire at the end of 2025 – permanent. The measure also includes the controversial $10,000 annual cap for state and local tax deductions (SALT), a provision that’s particularly unpopular in high-tax states like New York and New Jersey. The legislation is up for consideration as the November…

112,000 Square Feet Of Space Leased In Miami Airport Industrial Submarket

State Street Realty recently closed 112,000 square feet of industrial and office space lease transactions at Prologis Beacon Centre Industrial Park and Prologis MIA Business Center valued at $5.5 million. The parks are located within the Miami Airport Industrial submarket. The following transactions were recently completed: Pharma-Wholesale Corp. Inc. leased 3,600 square feet of industrial space at 1904 NW 84…

Forget flipping houses: Here’s how much flipping offices can net

Office-flipping is taking off in Hong Kong and New York as a reliable way to make quick–and sizable–returns. Flipping office space is done through strata-title office transactions, wherein ownership is parceled out over several sections of a building as opposed to the entire building. With just a few floors to consider, investors are increasingly finding office-flipping to be a good way to make a quick a buck…

SunTrust renews Brickell lease, other news in leasing

SunTrust Bank is staying in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. The bank just renewed its lease at 777 Brickell Avenue for an additional 10 years. The deal covers about 25,000 square feet in the office tower, including a new, 2,810-square-foot lobby bank branch within the building’s ground-floor retail space. SunTrust takes up 22,000 square feet of office space on the ninth floor, and…

Prying inside Miami Arts & Entertainment District developer Alex Sapir’s real estate empire

Last June, Alex Sapir’s ASRR Capital announced plans to build a 1.7 million-square-foot mixed-use development in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District, in what would be the real estate mogul’s biggest South Florida investment to date. The Miami 18 project would add to the portfolio Sapir’s firm was building in the city, to go with other developments like a smaller luxury boutique condo building…

Starwood buys Marriott-branded Springhill Suites hotel near MIA

Starwood Capital Group bought a Marriott-branded hotel near Miami International Airport that underwent an extensive renovation a few years ago. The firm purchase SpringHill Suites Miami Airport South for nearly $30 million, property records show. The 150-key hotel at 6700 Northwest Seventh Street was sold by an entity tied to the lodging and hospitality real estate firm, Noble Investment Group of…

Is the housing price-rent ratio a leading indicator?

Economic forecasters are always on the lookout for variables that can help predict upcoming recessions. One such variable that has gotten some recent attention is the housing price-rent ratio. As this ratio becomes higher, the rental option becomes more attractive. If it rises high enough, some households might switch from owning their homes to renting them; then the demand for owner-occupied housing…

Planet Fitness inks lease in Little Havana

Planet Fitness is coming to East Little Havana. The New Hampshire-based gym franchise inked a 14,800-square-foot lease at 775 Southwest 8th Street, which was previously home to a Walgreens site. The gym tenant plans to convert the building into a workout facility. Arnaldo Cantero III, a principal at BGRS Commercial Real Estate Advisory, represented the landlord, Robert Wollberg, who is listed…

Nationwide overbuilding is causing rents in even the hottest markets to plummet

Timing is everything. It’s a great time to be renting in America as a glut of new supply is causing rents across the country to take a nosedive. Meanwhile, the lag time between the planning and delivery of rental projects is hurting developers and landlords who are now feeling the crunch. But the signs were there for the past few years, as Zillow’s senior economist Aaron Terrazas explained to…

Annual survey shows a worsening shortage of construction workers in Florida

A survey shows about eight out of 10 construction companies in Florida are struggling to find workers with trade skills. Bricklayers, drywall installers, electricians, pipe layers and welders are the workers most in demand across Florida. Iron workers and concrete workers also are scarce. The survey by the Associated General Contractors of America found that 79 percent of Florida construction companies are…

Hundreds came out in support of Grove Playhouse

It was estimated that 500 people showed up late Monday afternoon for the “Give It Back” rally, in support of the Coconut Grove Playhouse. After six years of being shuttered, the villagers of Coconut Grove feel that enough is enough and they demand that the Playhouse reopen in some way, shape or form. Local politicians, actor, Andy Garcia and so many neighbors showed up in support of…

New TOD Project For Low-Income Seniors Breaks Ground

A new, transit-oriented development for seniors called Caribbean Village will break ground this week. The seven-story, 123-unit project in South Miami Heights will be built for low-income tenants earning 60% or less of the area median income, which in Miami-Dade County is $52,300. Five percent of the units at 19755 SW 110th Court will be designated for extremely low-income people making as little as…

Fall opening expected for first warehouse at Miami Gardens business park

Rendering of EastGroup’s first warehouse at a Miami Gardens business park. A Mississippi-based developer this fall expects to finish construction of the first phase of a business park in Miami Gardens on land purchased from Calder Casino and Race Course. Jackson, Miss.-based EastGroup Properties paid $27 million to buy the 61-acre development site from Calder in 2016. Miller Construction Co. has…

Going Green in Commercial Real Estate Investing: Finding Truth Behind the Hype

When it comes to investing in commercial real estate, there are some great ways to increase profitability. Additionally, there are some areas in which it can be difficult to assess whether an improvement will be a net positive in the long run. One of those areas is in going green or making green improvements just for the sake of it. Some of these kinds of improvements will help commercial owners see a…

Brickell’s Una Residences tower clears key vote

The “yacht-inspired” proposal got the nod from Miami’s Urban Development Review Board The Una Residences—a sculptural 47-story condo tower proposed for 175 SE 25th Road in Brickell – took a key step forward this week by gaining the approval of Miami’s Urban Development Review Board. The 579-foot-tall building will contain 137 units, 251 parking spaces, and a public baywalk with landscape…

Codina Partners takes on property management services

Real estate development and investment firm Codina Partners just added property management to its roster of services. The company announced it will provide property management to all of its commercial assets, including mixed-use developments Downtown Doral and 2020 Salzedo, as well as its 1.5 million-square-foot Beacon Logistics Park in Hialeah. As part of the transition, Oscar Gurdian was…

TIAA entity pays $71.3 million for apartment complex in northwest Dade

An apartment community in northwest Miami-Dade County just traded hands for $71.3 million. Property records show TH Real Estate picked up the 358-unit Latitudes at the Moors rental community at 6200 Northwest 173rd Street, in a deal that breaks down to about $200,000 per unit. TH Real Estate is an affiliate of Nuveen Investments, which serves as the investment management arm of TIAA.

Miami board approves Russian billionaire’s Brickell condo tower, Lennar’s Wynwood project & more

Russian billionaire Oleg Baybakov is moving forward with development of a new waterfront luxury tower in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood, and Lennar won the go-ahead for its plans to build a mixed-use multifamily project in Wynwood. The Miami Urban Design Review Board on Thursday approved Baybakov’s Una Residences, a sleek 48-story condominium designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill…

South Florida Investors Get In Position For Opportunity Zones

Around the country, real estate and finance experts are talking about the new opportunity zone program. And around the country, they have lots of questions. “It could be the best thing since sliced bread, or it could be a disaster,” Urban League of Broward County President and CEO Germaine Smith-Baugh said. Several experts spoke to Bisnow about their questions, hopes and fears as the program relates…

Downsizing SunTrust Extends Lease on Miami’s Signature Brickell Avenue

SunTrust Bank has at least another decade at 777 Brickell Ave., but in a smaller space as the bank is planning a major downsize in the Miami office tower it has anchored since the building opened in 1978. The bank extended its lease for 10 years beginning in July 2019, and will occupy 25,631 square feet, according to Cushman & Wakefield, which represented SunTrust as well as landlord Alliance Real…

Why Does the Yield Curve Typically Invert before Recessions?

Inversions of the Treasury yield curve, which occur when shorter-term securities have higher interest rates than longer-term ones, have preceded the past seven recessions. But why does the yield curve tend to invert before a recession hits? In this video, taken from a recent Dialogue with the Fed presentation, St. Louis Fed Director of Research Chris Waller discusses two reasons why: if people expect real…

Starbucks, vegan restaurant among new leases signed in Midtown Miami

Midtown Miami is hungry for restaurants. A host of eateries signed new leases there, with a vegan restaurant and Starbucks headlining the list. At Midtown Five, a new 400-unit luxury apartment tower, all 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space is now fully leased, said Jon Samuel, who handles leasing for the owners, a partnership between Magellan Development Group, J.P. Morgan Asset Management…

Bon appétit: Investor buys Wynwood site with plans to lure Montreal restaurant

A Canadian investor just purchased a Wynwood warehouse with hopes of bringing in a hip, new Montreal-style restaurant to the artsy Miami neighborhood. WYN Realty, led by Philip Kakon, bought the 3,717-square-foot mixed-used warehouse at 271 Northwest 23rd Street for $3 million. The sale equates to $807 per square foot. The building sits right across the street from Moishe Mana’s massive…

MAPS Production House in Miami Beach hits the market

The historic MAPS Production House and an adjacent apartment building in Miami Beach’s South-of-Fifth neighborhood just hit the market with an asking price of $16 million. The properties’ owner, Paul Lardi, tapped Marcus & Millichap’s Alex Zylberglait and Francisco Baserva to sell the sites at 200 and 212 Collins Avenue. The two buildings, built in 1940 and 1941, sit on a 13,000-square-foot lot on the…

Berkowitz scores $12 million construction loan to build Floor & Décor store in Kendall

Berkowitz Development Group just scored a $12 million construction loan from City National Bank of Florida to build a Floor & Décor store in Kendall. The 82,311-square foot store will be an anchor at the Kendall Village Shopping Center at Kendall Drive and Southwest 124th Avenue. The center, along with an adjacent parcel, totals 27.4 acres and 13 buildings. Other tenants include Regal Cinema, Old…

Affordable Rental Community Coming to Southern Miami-Dade County

An affordable housing rental for seniors is under construction 15 miles south of downtown Miami, the first project of its kind in the South Miami Heights neighborhood in a quarter century, the developer said. Pinnacle Housing Group expects to complete the 123-unit Caribbean Village at 19755 SW 110th Court in unincorporated Miami-Dade County by the first or second quarter of next year, said…

What is the business tort of usurpation of corporate opportunity?

Officers and directors within companies in Florida have many responsibilities. The most basic responsibility is to make sure that the business runs correctly and is profitable. In order to do this, they need to make sure that they maintain good relationships with potential clients and others who could provide the company with business opportunities. When these officers and directors receive various…

New Doral Office Building Goes On The Block

Doral 58, located at 10305 NW 58 Street in Doral, is on the market. The asset is a new office property which was designed with flexibility in mind. All of the 6 floors are able to house both traditional office spaces and medical uses along with both medical and retail opportunities on the first floor. Offices can have both high unfinished ceilings or traditional ceiling tiles with height of up to 11.5 feet clear. Each floor…

I Squared, Moving Headquarters to Miami, Raises $7 Billion for Infrastructure Investments

I Squared Capital, an infrastructure-focused private equity firm founded by former Morgan Stanley executives, has raised $7 billion for its second fund, exceeding its original target as competition for investor capital heats up. The fund, known as ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund II, will make equity investments that average $300 million for energy, utilities, transport and telecommunications deals around the world…

Video: Downtown Miami 2018

This promo clip from the Miami Downtown Development Authority (Miami DDA) discusses features and benefits for businesses located in the city’s central business district (Miami CBD). Flashing between images of brightline, Citibikes, nightlife, office centers, and more, the clip endeavors to bring attention to the vitality of downtown, which has rapidly grown and evolved over the last few years. Considered…

Investors buy land in downtown South Miami, plan mixed-use project

More changes are coming to downtown South Miami. Edgewater Capital Investments just entered the development business with a $1.8 million purchase of vacant land at 7435 Southwest 61st Avenue, where the firm is planning to build a mixed-use project. Manny Mato, a principal at Edgewater Capital, said the firm wants to develop a four-story building that will…

Trump is considering a tax break that would be a boon for real estate

President Trump is considering a tax break that would link capital gains to inflation. Such a change would cut tax bills for investors selling real estate or stock by adjusting the original purchase price for inflation. For example, under current law, corporate stock with dividends held for a decade would be subject to a tax rate of 24.3 percent. When indexed to inflation, that rate falls to 21.4 percent, according to…

Little Haiti’s Magic City Innovation District on tap at city

A property that for decades was home to a trailer park is to be reborn as a major mixed-use development bringing thousands of residential units, hotel rooms, nearly 350,000 square feet of commercial-retail uses and more than 1.9 million square feet of offices to the City of Miami. If that’s not ambitious enough, the developers of Magic City Innovation District hope to attract a railroad station too as…

Allen Morris-Related Group projects in talks for Coral Gables

There is still no deal between Coral Gables and developers to turn two city-owned Andalusia Avenue garages into multi-use buildings. The original deadline for the city and the developers, Coral Gables City Center LLC (CGCC), to come to an agreement was Sept. 1. After Sept. 1, the city could have started negotiations with the runner-up developer, Terranova. But the deadline has been pushed back another month…

Search and destroy: How CoStar became a $15B juggernaut

Just before 8 a.m. on Dec. 13, 2016, two teams of sheriffs descended upon narrow streets lined with cinder block buildings in Laoag, a city in northern Philippines. They stormed a pair of office buildings, leading some onlookers to think brawls had broken out. In fact, the target was Avion BPO, a call center and research facility with U.S. clients. A group of panicked Avion researchers locked themselves in a room…

Pinnacle plans new senior affordable housing for south Miami-Dade

A new senior affordable housing project is underway in Miami-Dade’s South Miami Heights neighborhood, the first in the area for more than two decades. Pinnacle Housing Group is developing Caribbean Village at 19755 Southwest 110th Court, just north of Southland Mall. The project is set to rise on about 3.25 acres of public land, Pinnacle partner David Deutch said. The 123-unit transit-oriented project will…

SoFla’s office, multifamily sales fall in Q2, year-over-year: report

Some of South Florida’s best performing real estate sectors now appear to be showing signs of a cool down — with the exception of Palm Beach County’s multifamily market and the tri-county region’s retail and industrial asset sales. A new report from the data firm Vizzda and the Miami Association of Realtors shows that the volume of office and multifamily sales fell in South Florida in the second quarter of…

Ice River Springs, others lease space at Miami Industrial Logistics Center; other leasing news

Three companies signed leases at Miami Industrial Logistics Center, a three-building warehouse and distribution center in northwest Miami-Dade County that totals nearly 677,000 square feet. Supply chain logistics company Pegasus Logistics Group inked a 20,750-square-foot lease at 15002 Northwest 107 Avenue. Casal Group represented the tenant. Ice River, a bottled water company producing…

Pointe Development, Monceau Realty Submit Bid to Develop $33.5M Town Hall, Civic Center in Miami-Dade County

Pointe Development Co., in partnership with Monceau Realty Group, has submitted a bid to develop a new town hall and civic center in Surfside, a town in Miami-Dade County. The proposed $33.5 million development would be located at 9293 Harding Avenue and 269 93rd St., which are the sites of the current town hall and a municipal parking lot, respectively. Plans for the project include a new town hall…

Offices, Retail Part of Public-Private Partnership Proposed for Surfside Civic Center

A developer is proposing Class A offices and retail as part of a $33.5 million project that also would feature a new town hall, civic center and police station in Surfside, Florida, a small oceanfront town north of Miami Beach. Pointe Development Company wants to build about 61,000 square feet of offices and 11,000 square feet of ground-floor retail as part of a civic and recreation center at 9293…

Declare the Grove Playhouse as being historic?

The Coconut Grove Playhouse was discussed by National Register Review Board in Tallahassee on August 9. The Playhouse was considered for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The board went over criteria of the building original 1927 design by Kiehel and Elliott Architects. Melissa Wyllie, Director of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation and about nine other speakers spoke about the cultural…

County suing City of Miami over Coconut Grove Playhouse decision

The County is suing the City over the Coconut Grove Playhouse. There is a meeting on Thursday, September 6, regarding historical status of the Playhouse. The suit is against the City of Miami Commissioners who ruled in favor of saving the Playhouse, considering it historic. At a meeting in December the City Commissioners discussed an appeal by two Grove residents and the HEP Board’s approval of…

New Development Focused on Wellness Opens in Florida

Aventura ParkSquare opened in the past month as a mixed-use project focused on health, wellness and walkability in Aventura, Florida, an affluent suburb north of Miami that’s drawing increasing interest from developers. Victor Ballestas, principal of Integra Investments, said he expects the 1.2 million-square-foot project on 7.4 acres at Waterways Boulevard and NE 207th Street to serve as a new town center…

Developer Snags $138M Construction Loan Even as Miami’s Condo Market Sputters

A developer secured a $138 million loan to finance a 57-story waterfront condominium near downtown Miami, an impressive feat according to one analyst who says the city’s saturated condo market is well past its peak. The financing from JPMorgan Chase Bank comes with the 100-unit Elysee nearly half sold and in the early stages of vertical construction. The project by Two Roads…

Site Selection in Tertiary Markets, Making the Most of Incentives

Incentive packages can really make a difference to a smaller company’s profit and loss statement… There is no question that incentives play a role in site selection, even in small-town America. While the Amazons of the world grab headlines for site selection and financial incentive packages to lure them to community ‘X’ and ‘Y,’ it’s worth remembering when seeking an industrial site or back-office location…

Three Warehouse Leases Completed In The Past 60 Days At The Miami Industrial Logistics Center In Hialeah

State Street Realty recently leased an impressive 92,259 square feet of industrial space at Miami Industrial Logistics Center (MILC) located within the Hialeah Gardens/Medley Industrial submarket. The following transactions were completed in the past 60 days: Pegasus Logistics Group, Inc. leased 20,749 square feet of industrial space at 15002 NW 107 Avenue, Hialeah Gardens. State Street Realty Vice…

Retailers dip their toes with short-term deals

With so much turmoil in the retail market, tenants are increasingly looking to do short-term deals. Figures from CBRE show that since 2016, the number of retail leases inked for shorter than three years has increased dramatically, the Wall Street Journal reported. Retailers are using the shorter terms to test out new locations and see where rents will go. “The obvious positive on the tenant side is that they…

Bus shelters created by Ferrari designer coming to Miami Beach

Style-conscious Miami Beach has decided that even its humble bus shelters need an updated look. So, the city government has hired a bus-shelter design team that includes Pininfarina, an Italian firm famous for designing Ferraris. The city of Miami Beach named Fort Lauderdale-based Acai Associates as the architect for the bus-shelter project, and Acai hired Pininfarina as designer. Pininfarina has…

Moody’s buying CRE data firm Reis in $278M deal

Moody’s is buying Reis, the commercial real estate data company, in a deal valued at $278 million. The financial services company best known for its credit ratings is paying all cash to acquire Reis and incorporate its data archive of some 18 million properties into Moody’s Analytics offerings, Globe Street reported. “Their data on CRE supply and Moody’s Analytics’ insights on the…

LISTEN: The Real Deal discusses dirty money in U.S. real estate

For the The Real Deal’s first-ever subscriber conference call, managing issue editor Damian Ghigliotty sat down with reporters Will Parker and David Jeans to discuss money laundering in U.S. real estate. Check out the SoundCloud player to listen to the full conversation, and be sure to keep an eye out for more information on our next conference call, happening in mid-September.

Coral Gables approves Regency on the Park

A new 152-unit apartment building is in the works for the city of Coral Gables. Developer Alliance Starlight I LLC, led by Roberto Trapaga and Henry Paper, just won unanimous site plan approval from the city commission for its Regency on the Park rental project on the southwest corner of Galiano Street and Calabria Avenue. Behar Font & Partners designed the 12-story building. Jorge L. Navarro of…

Developer proposes $33.5M mixed-use town hall in Surfside

Surfside may get a new town hall. Pointe Development Company and Monceau Realty Group submitted an unsolicited proposal to build a new town hall and civic center between 87th and 96th streets. The team was the only group to submit a proposal after Surfside opened up bidding, and the proposal will go before the commission in late September, attorney Alex Tachmes said. The proposal calls for a…

Nationwide rents remain largely flat during August: report

In the battle of West Coast versus East Coast, one might say the former just added another notch under its belt. The price for a one-bedroom in Santa Ana, located in Orange County, climbed 3.4 percent, knocking Miami off the list of the top 10 most expensive places to rent, according to a new report from Zumper. Otherwise, rents remained relatively flat nationwide last month, with one- and two…

South Florida construction starts fall in July

South Florida construction starts fell in July on a year-over-year basis. Total building activity declined 38 percent to $586 million in July 2017, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Residential construction starts decreased 17 percent to $354 million. And commercial construction saw the sharpest decrease, down 55 percent to $232 million from $521 million. On a year-to-date basis through July…

Real estate bigwigs weigh in following governor’s race nominations

After Democrat Andrew Gillum pulled off a stunning upset against well-funded competitors Gwen Graham, Philip Levine and Jeff Greene for the Democratic nomination for Florida governor in Tuesday’s primary election, many members of the real estate industry found themselves Googling Gillum, mayor of Tallahassee. The Florida Association of Realtors won’t take a position on the new candidates…

Avra Jain, Terra among developers planning new projects in Hialeah

A slew of developers are proposing new projects for the city of Hialeah, amid strong efforts to transform its image from an industrial and manufacturing district into a trendy residential and commercial area. New entertainment venue proposed near Hialeah Market Station: Among the new projects, developers Avra Jain and David Martin of Terra are partnering to refurbish an aging 6-acre…

CN Hotels scores $12M loan to build Hilton Garden Inn in Homestead

CN Hotels just secured a $12 million loan to build a Hilton Garden Inn in Homestead. Greensboro, North Carolina-based CN Hotels filed plans with the city of Homestead July 2017 to build a six-story, 130-room hotel with 76,632 square feet at 2601 Northeast 9th Court. The company purchased the 2.6-acre vacant land for the building on December 2017 for $1.7 million from a company affiliated with DDR…

Blackstone buys Sedano’s-anchored center near Miami Lakes

A company tied to Blackstone Group just dropped $34.5 million on a Sedano’s-anchored shopping center near Miami Lakes, property records show. Miami-based commercial real estate firm Saglo Development sold the Vista Shopping Center at 6400 Northwest 186th Street, along with three standalone buildings, a 7,730-square-foot 7-Eleven, a La Brasa Rotisserie & Grill restaurant and an adjacent Jiffy…

Henley USA buys another Miami Beach hotel for $20M

Henley USA, the U.S. arm of United Kingdom-based private equity firm Henley, just purchased another boutique hotel in Miami Beach. Encotel LLC, led by Enrique Colmenares, sold the Eurostars Vintro Hotel at 2216 Park Avenue for $20 million in an off-market deal, according to One Sotheby’s International Realty. Susan Gale of One Sotheby’s represented the seller and buyer, whom the brokerage…

Will Brightline Get $1.75B In New Bonds, Add A Stop In Treasure Coast?

Florida’s new, privately run train, Brightline, has already sold $600M in private activity bonds and started up luxury service between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. To extend to Orlando as planned, it is seeking another $1.75B in bonds, and Wednesday will ask the Florida Development Finance Corp. to issue them. Courtesy of Brightline Brightline President Patrick Goddard waves to riders May 19…

South Florida Office Volume Surges in 2Q 2018

South Florida office dollar volume rose to its highest value in the past three quarters, according to the new 2Q 2018 The Quarterly Report – South Florida Commercial Real Estate released by data firm Vizzda (Visual Data) and the MIAMI Association of Realtors Commercial (MIAMI Commercial). Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties registered a combined $799.4 million in office sales in 2Q 2018…