Adler Group buys Miami property approved for 449 apartments

An affiliate of the Adler Group bought a downtown Miami property that was recently approved for 449 apartments.  River Tower LLC, a Miami-based company managed by Brian S. Campbell, sold the 1.6-acre site at 230 S.W. 3rd Street for $14.25 million to Lancelot Miami River, an affiliate of Miami-based developer the Adler Group.

Ritz-Carlton Residences Miami Beach developer boosts loan to $105M

Lionheart Capital got its construction loan for the Ritz-Carlton Residences Miami Beach boosted to $105 million.  Bank of the Ozarks assumed a $10 million loan from City National Bank of Florida and increased it by $95 million to developer 4701 North Meridian LLC, an affiliate of Miami Beach-based Lionheart Capital led by CEO…

Edgewater Site of New 57-Story Condo Tower

Elysee will be the tallest residential high-rise in the East Edgewater neighborhood. Get all the details.

Chetrit Group deal spares eight South Florida apartment buildings from foreclosure

Eight South Florida apartment buildings were released from a foreclosure lawsuit as part of a nationwide acquisition by Chetrit Group.  A group of 73 apartment buildings in eight states were hit with foreclosure lawsuits in 2013 as part of Empirian Lexford’s $335 million loan with a commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) firm.

Professional office building proposed in South Miami

A developer wants to build a five-story professional office building in South Miami.  The 65,739-square-foot building would be located at 6201 S.W. 72nd Street (Sunset Drive). It’s just west of the South Miami Metrorail Station and about 10 blocks south of the University of Miami.  According to the plan set to go before the South Miami…

Police: Miami Beach Realtor tried to extort powerful duo for $800,000

A Miami Beach real estate agent — who sported bruises in his mugshot — was arrested over the weekend after police say he tried to extort $800,000 from two high-powered brokers, known as ‘‘the Jills,’’ and then grabbed for an officer’s gun during his arrest.  Kevin Francis Tomlinson, 48, a high-profile Realtor who worked…

Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood to get tallest condo yet

The Elysee Residences aims to be the tallest condo yet in Miami’s booming Edgewater neighborhood.  Two Roads Development recently launched sales for the 57-story project at 700 NE 23rd Street, a waterfront site that currently has a four-story multifamily building. It would have 100 units ranging from 2,660 square feet to 4,000 square feet.

Piling Work At MiamiCentral Nearly Complete, All Aboard Florida Gets Green Light For $1.75B Financing

All Aboard Florida received approval yesterday from a Florida board to issue $1.75 billion in tax-free bonds, just as the company is completing piling work at the MiamiCentral station.  The company will now be able to pay off $405 million worth of bonds issues last year that sold at a 12 percent interest rate, which were used to begin work…

Among the world’s major cities, Miami Beach remains the most attractive for its prices per square foot

Beyond being one of the main tourist destinations throughout the year, Miami and surrounding cities have become a great real estate investment opportunity not only because of its competitive price per square foot, which compared to other cosmopolitan cities around the world remains the lowest, but…

Commercial Real Estate National News Roundup For August 10, 2015

More women needed in CRE, Orlando retail and office buildings are in great demand, industrial market strong in Kansas City and more.  It’s all here at the Commercial Real Estate Real Estate Roundup for August 10, 2015.

Moishe Mana bags another building in downtown Miami for big plan

Moishe Mana added another building to his collection in downtown Miami as he prepares a major redevelopment plan that will focus mainly on retail.  The New York resident’s Jersey Art Holdings recently paid $6.825 million to 3 Palms Enterprises, managed by Jose Goyanes, for the 10,351-square-foot building at 4 S.E. 1st Street.

Miami-Dade Walgreens trades for $1M premium

The Walgreens at 5701 Northwest 183rd Street in Northwest Miami-Dade.  A Walgreens in northwest Miami-Dade County was just sold for $5.9 million — a $1.1 million increase from its last sale two years ago.  The store is located at 5701 Northwest 183rd street. It was built in 1997 on a lot…

AC Hotel in Aventura lands $35M construction loan

Norwich Partners has closed on a $35 million mortgage for its planned AC Hotel by Marriott in Aventura, according to Miami-Dade County records.  Norwich is developing the 233-key property between Northeast 207 Street and…

Biscayne Beach developers launch new Edgewater tower

The developers behind Biscayne Beach are launching a new condominium in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood, The Real Deal has learned.  Elysee Residences will be a 100-unit, 57-story waterfront development at 700 Northeast 23rd Street. South Florida-based…

Miami Beach bank building sells for $21M

The United States branch of an Israeli firm just sold off a six-story financial building in Miami Beach for $21 million, Miami-Dade County records show.  The 39,638-square-foot building, at 4100 Pine Tree Drive, is occupied by HSBC Bank. It was built in…

How Muse Won a $134M Construction Loan

“Miami has become an important market for condo construction lenders, in part, because of the quality of the developments being approved…”

KBS Snaps Up 100% Occupied Weston Towers

“We believe Weston Corporate Center I and II’s central location in the amenity-rich region of Broward County is irreplaceable and is an attractive draw to tenants.”

Paraiso Bayviews — next in series — to come out of the ground

Related Group’s Paraiso Bayviews — the third of four Paraiso towers aiming to transform Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood — is now 85 percent sold and is about to begin construction, The Real Deal has learned. Groundbreaking will start next week at the planned 44-story Paraiso Bayviews, which will have 388 units…

Apartment Developer Buys Site Where 449-Unit Riverside Tower Was Recently Approved

Downtown Miami’s red-hot apartment market could be getting a few hundred more units.  Apartment developer Adler Group closed on the purchase of the Riverside Tower development site last week. The property is located at 230 Southwest 3rd Street, in front of a city of Miami administrative building.  In 2013, a company managed…

At American Dream Mall, World’s Largest Indoor Ski Slope Will Open At 10 AM Daily

American Dream mall is already advertising in a local newspaper.  The mall, which will be the largest in the U.S., is being built in Northwest Dade, near Hialeah and Miami Lakes.  The indoor ski slope will be the largest in the world, according to the ad. Skiing, sledding, tobogganing and ski instruction will be available daily year round, starting…

Inside 250 Wynwood, First of Many Residential Buildings Likely to Come

Construction is almost complete at 250 Wynwood, the modern, six-story, 11-unit residential building going up on NW 24th Street. In a neighborhood that seems to have it all — world-class street art, craft beer, artisanal coffee, creative office spaces — there aren’t many options for people to sleep there at night. And that’s mostly because…

Speedy Melo Group Is Already Painting 497-Unit Melody

Melo Group wants to retain their reputation as one of the fastest builders in Miami.  The developer is already painting their 497-unit Melody rental high-rise, even as the 36-story tower continues to rise.  Melody broke ground in June 2014 at 245 NE 14 Street, next to the Arsht Center. Melo says that it will be a luxury apartment…

5 predictions about the South Florida economy

South Florida is catching a tailwind from a stronger U.S. economy, according to PNC Financial Services Group’s third quarter Southeast Market Outlook. The report offered an optimistic forecast of the region’s progress into 2016, predicting lowered unemployment rates, less foreclosed properties and more tourism.  “Southeast Florida…

Photos of 2500 Biscayne Coming Out Of The Ground

Construction continues at a 156-unit rental project at 2500 Biscayne.  Greystone of New York is the developer, while Behar Font of Coral Gables is the architect.

North Miami Business Park sells for $21.25 million

North Miami Business Park sold at a slight loss this week.  The 214,318-square-foot, 12-building asset traded for $21.25 million, or about $100 a square foot. In 2005, during the height of the last market cycle, the business park at 1922 N.E. 149th St. in North Miami sold for $21.75 million.  In the latest deal, Douglas Mandel…

Mixed-use project near Metrorail to be proposed in Miami’s Coconut Grove

A development with apartments, commercial space and possibly office space will be proposed at a site near a Metrorail station and Underline, a 10-mile linear park and urban trail being developed underneath Metrorail that will run from the Miami River to Dadeland South Station.  Alfa SF Equity…

Keyes Commercial Leads Mid-Year Commerical Broker Ranking

In the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, Keyes Commercial Realty dominated the Miami MLS market share rankings by number of sales transactions of commercial improved properties within Miami-Dade County.  The firm’s impressive 4.1% market share was 82% more than the n…

Berger Commercial Realty Closes Three Leases Totaling More Than 55,000 Square Feet

Broker Associate Roxanna Collins negotiated the deals.

Miami Business Park Trades In $21.25 Million Deal

IPA senior director Douglas K. Mandel and IPA director Benjamin H. Silver negotiated the sale on behalf of the seller.

Mindboggling Reveals: Skinny Waterfront Condo Tower ‘Elysee’ Coming to Edgewater

The Next Miami spotted a tweet by broker Kinga Konsorska of Cervera Real Estate revealing the first rendering of a new, skinny condo tower coming to Edgewater called Elysee. They dug up some additional info. The 57-story project will only have one or two units per floor, for a total of 100 units…

Development Update: Berenblum Busch Designing Nine Townhouses for The Roads

A set of nine ‘upscale’ townhouses designed by local Miami design firm Berenblum Busch Architecture is coming to the pocket of multifamily residential and apartment buildings around the Vizcaya Metrorail Station, according to the architects. The 2,500 square foot units will be three levels each…

Railroading: What if Tri-Rail Extended All the Way to Homestead?

This map, taken from the system map of the CSX Railway, shows the extent of the CSX-owned rail trackage south and west of Miami International Airport, which CSX is proposing to sell to the State of Florida to expand Tri-Rail. The dashed blue lines are those which CSX has access to under operating…

Groundbreakings: Rather Nice Neoclassical Building Coming to the Design District

A rather classy looking neoclassical retail building in the Design District, just north of all of the DACRA developments underway, broke ground today at 4136 N. Miami Avenue. Its developer, Manny Angelo Varas, says it will “feel like it’s been there for a hundred years,” with its shaded retail…

Comment (re extending Tri-Rail south) of the day: “Hrmm, there’s definitely potential here if…

“Hrmm, there’s definitely potential here if the Homestead stretch can be procured at a fair price. It would definitely help boost the attractiveness of South Dade / Miami tremendously. From a practical perspective, we’ll probably have low utilization for a long while (much like the existing Tri-Rail…

Swire Brings in Hong Kong Heavyweight

Swire Properties president calls her “invaluable” to the Brickell City Centre launch.

Keyes Commercial

If You Can’t Stand the Heat: South Florida’s Multifamily Residential Market On Blistering Pace

Even by the standards of South Florida’s multifamily housing market boom, multifamily builder ZOM has been on a tear. The Florida-based development firm broke ground a few days ago on another 43-story apartment tower, the final phase of the $1 billion Metropolitan project in downtown Miami.  Met…

Colliers Acquires Miami-Based Property Management Firm Pointe Group Advisors

In a move to deepen its bench in the strategic South Florida market, Colliers International Group Inc. (Nasdaq: CIGI) announced it has acquired Miami-based property management specialist Pointe Group Advisors.  Pointe Group Advisors manages 7 million square feet of office, industrial and retail…

Doral lets Trump keep key to the city

Despite a decent showing of protesters, Doral city council voted 3-2 to let Donald Trump keep the key to the city.  Doral Vice Mayor Sandra Ruiz on Wednesday night proposed a motion to publicly denounce Trump for comments he made about Mexican immigrants and to take back the key to the city, which was presented to the business…

All Aboard Florida gets key vote to borrow $1.75 billion

All Aboard Florida won a pivotal vote Wednesday that will allow it to issue $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds to build a passenger railway from Miami to Orlando.  The unanimous decision by the Florida Development Finance Commission was an important hurdle for All Aboard Florida’s $2.25 billion project and increases…

Hart Commercial Brokers Sale Of Doral Office Building

The 24,430-square-foot office building is located in the heart of the Doral business district.

Reichel Realty Unlocks Value For Iberia Bank-Owned Miramar Property With Sale Of 8.5-Acre Outparcels

Over 18 months, the property was under contract 5 times.

The Rent is Too Damn High: Miami’s Average Rent Rose by $80 in 3 Months, in the Summer

The last time Curbed Miami published a Zumper National rent report, in May, Miami’s average rent was $1800 a month. Now, according to the latest Zumper rent report, for August 2015, the

Railroading: CSX Just Made East-West Rail Line a Lot More Expensive

CSX just made an 11 mile east-west Tri-Rail or Metrorail line along its Miami International Airport-bordering rail tracks significantly more expensive than the bargain basement $102 million estimated construction cost of the project, reports the Miami Herald. They don’t want to…

Once and Future Flagler

Miami-Dade College history professor Paul George remembers when Flagler Street was literally Miami’s main street. “Growing up here in the 1950s,” he says, “downtown was the center of almost everything. There were movie theaters, Burdines, five-and-dime stores. It was…

700 Midtown rentals get cold shoulder

A developer’s plan to turn half a dozen acres next to Midtown into row upon row of rental apartments is in limbo after a less-than-favorable examination by the city’s Urban Development Review Board.  The angular site on Northeast Second Avenue hugs the FEC railroad tracks and is…

Goldman Properties buys Wynwood Doors in Miami for $12 million

Goldman Properties has acquired more land in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood with the purchase of mural project Wynwood Doors. The 31,000 square feet of land and 3,960-square-foot warehouse are directly adjacent to Wynwood Walls, a large collection of graffiti and street art from notable artists, which gives the neighborhood its…

Marlins Could Kill Soccer Stadium; Mayor Consults Lawyers

Mayor Tomás Regalado was apparently unaware of the rights that the Marlins have to essentially kill a soccer stadium next to Marlins Park, until Michael Lewis wrote about it in Miami Today last week.  Beckham’s partners were also apparently not informed of those issues by local politicians, who had pushed for the soccer stadium…

Adult entertainment firm buys Miami Gardens site for $15M

An adult entertainment company has picked up a warehouse, showroom and strip club in Miami Gardens for 15,300 stacks, or $15.3 million, according to Miami-Dade County records. An affiliate of RCI Hospitality Holdings, a publicly traded operator of strip clubs, nightclubs and adult entertainment websites, was the buyer. Strip club…

826-836 interchange on fast track

While all the finishing touches on Miami-Dade County’s most impactful road project – the interchange of state roads 826 and 836 – won’t be in place until January 2016, “We expect the project to be substantially completed by the end of this year,” project spokesman…

Niche in container market pays off big

A Florida East Coast train arrives at the PortMiami via an on-dock rail connection in the morning, then departs in the afternoon, carrying with it an assortment of commodities that range from garments to waste paper to refrigerated cargo.  As of July 28, the two-year-old rail service had transported…

Push to handle air traffic boom

With numbers of passengers and flights entering and leaving Miami International Airport continuing to outpace projections, the airport is pushing forward efforts to accommodate the influx.  Those efforts include changing the airport’s infrastructure as well as working closely with…

Which way will Calle Ocho run?

Residents and business people in East Little Havana, a historic neighborhood at the western edge of booming Brickell, are concerned about changes that are coming for two major streets that slice through the area.  The Florida Department of Transportation in June completed a study of Southwest Seventh…

CBRE Arranges 50,000 SF Lease For Healthcare Tech Company

The company is expanding its operations and plans to hire approximately 500 employees from Deerfield Beach and surrounding communities when it opens on August 16.

NAI Miami To Offer Private Equity Development To CRE Clients

NAI Miami will work together with 607Cogent to offer this unique service to its retail clients.

Former Carlisle, Biscayne Housing execs and others charged with stealing $36M from U.S. affordable housing program

Former Carlisle Development Group CEO Matthew Greer and five others were charged Tuesday with conspiring to defraud the U.S. government out of millions of dollars through a low-income housing scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced.  About $36 million in funds were stolen because…

213,000 SF Miami Airport West Industrial Facility Trades

CBC Alliance Miami Managing Principal Jim McCoy and Jeff Hartsook of Americas Industrial Realty Corporation exclusively represented the seller, Leyjon Investments Corp, in the $15 million, all-cash transaction.

Adler Group Buys Vacant Lot For $14.25 Million

Zoning for the parcel allows for a developer to build up to 36 stories, or up to 60 stories if the builder uses the bonus program under the Miami 21 Zoning Code.

Turnbridge Equities Acquires Entire Block On Washington Ave.

Miami Beach-based Turnbridge Equities has acquired a pair of older retail properties located at 601-615 Washington Avenue and 657-685 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach from GSL Management. Turnbridge paid $36 million or about $621 per square foot for the buildings, which were purchased for their land…

Development Update: Mansions at Acqualina is Finished; Estates at Acqualina Reaches $360 Million in Sales

The very slim Mansions at Acqualina has been completed, received its TCO (Temporary Certificate of Occupancy), and is ready for move-in, according to the developer. Oh, and the joint is completely sold out, which means that the Palazzo di Richezze, the building’s $55 million…

Two Years Late, Merrick Manor is ‘One Step Closer to Groundbreaking’

We originally reported that Merrick Manor, the luxury midrise condo tower in Coral Gables, was set for an August groundbreaking, exactly two years ago. So, obviously something came up, and that something was all that drama over Trolleygate. Finally it’s August again and Merrick…iece up, arguing that a certain gang of decor trends are so ubiquitous that they’re “on the verge of extinctio…

One Thousand Museum’s Thrillingly Glass-Walled Rooftop Pool Could Quietly Lose its Glass Wall

One Sotheby’s, the official leasing agent of Zaha Hadid’s One Thousand Museum condo tower, has dropped a few new renderings on its blog of the penthouse, two-level rooftop amenity area, and the lower pools on the amenity deck. Everything looks shiny and gorgeous, including a long blank wall on…

On the market: $20 Million for Almost An Acre of Land on North Bay Road?

The Jills have listed a 37,895 square foot bayfront vacant lot on North Bay Road for $19.95 million along with floorplans for a contemporary house, making it the largest and most expensive empty lot and the fourth most expensive listing on the road. It may not be as wildly overpriced as two other…

National Commercial Real Estate Roundup For August 3, 2015

Like-kind exchanges get a census, Q2 sales slump, office construction booms in ten markets, an intergovernmental turf war, and what does $12 million get you in Milwaukee? It’s all here at the Commercial Real Estate National News Roundup for August 3…

Redland Florida Land Sold

One of the largest available land sites in Miami-Dade County has been sold. The 95 acres of land is located in the Redland on Southwest 328th Street just west of 217th Avenue. The sale price was $2,775,000 or about $29,000 per acre.  ComReal Miami’s…

American Dream Mall Will Have World’s Largest Indoor Ski Slope

Being called a luxury shopping and entertainment center rather than a mall, skiing, sledding, tobogganing and ski instruction will be available daily.

Opa-Locka warehouse trades for nearly $6M

A warehouse in Opa-Locka traded hands for nearly three times its last sale, Miami-Dade County records show.  The 91,813-square-foot building, at 12845 Northwest 45th Avenue, sold for $5.8 million to S.K.L. of Miami Inc. The company lists Sang….

Hotel Astor in Miami Beach granted EB-5 status

After a grueling two-year application process, Miami Beach’s Hotel Astor has been granted EB-5 status by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office, The Real Deal has learned.  That means the 18 investors from Brazil, China, and…

Hotel sales in 2015 reach $42B worldwide

From the New York website: It seems like Monopoly had it right: it’s all about the hotels.  Global investors poured a whopping $42 billion into hospitality properties in the first half of 2015, with Asian and Middle Eastern buyers providing a major boost, according to JLL…

Office building along Biscayne sells for $11.5M

A Miami investor has sold a five-story office building in Miami, according to county records.  The Sunset View Office Tower, at 4700 Biscayne Boulevard, sold for $11.5 million. An LLC led by Pablo Umansky was the seller. Miami Beach-based MGB Biscayne Blvd. Corp….

How to Attract More CRE Millennials

More than one-in-three American workers today are Millennials. How can the commercial real estate industry prepare for the future?

55 Miracle Mile Sees Breakthrough

“Our team took over the leasing four months ago, and we were able to bring the vacancy rate down to…”

Retail property in Miami’s trendy Wynwood district sells for $12.24M

CJL Wynwood, an affiliate of New York’s Centurion Realty, LLC, has secured a property in Miami’s Wynwood for $12.24 million in a joint venture with James Realty and Link Real Estate.  The New York company bought two adjacent parcels at 2507, 2511 N.W. 2nd Ave in Miami and 184 N.W. 26th St. in Miami. The property has…

5 retailers announce new South Beach storefronts

An array of retailers have announced new locations on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, one of South Florida’s most heavily trafficked tourist destinations:  Anthropologie will relocate to a proposed development at 801 Lincoln Road from 1108 Lincoln Road. The women’s clothing, accessories and home decor retailer has signed a 10-year lease…

Kenny Nachwalter PA Relocating to Four Seasons Tower

Kenny Nachwalter PA, a business litigation firm, is relocating to Four Seasons Tower at 1441 Brickell Ave. in Miami, Florida, after 37 years in downtown Miami.  It will be leasing 21,000 square feet, the majority of the 11th floor. The long-term lease begins early next year.  Cushman & Wakefield…

FIU Students Trying to Build Bullet Train to Miami Beach

A group of students mainly from FIU, but also UM, and Miami-Dade College are trying to bring a maglev train to Miami, an idea that would be pretty incredible if and when it actually got built. Maglevs are superfast ‘bullet trains’ that levitate on magnets and already exist in China and Japan.

The Life Aquatic: Miami Science Barge Coming to Museum Park Next Year

The Miami Science Barge, which when completed will be exactly what it sounds like, officially has a home: Museum Park, or mores specifically, in the water right next to Museum Park. In a lovely turn of events, this puts the floating laboratory and educational facility…

Preservation Watch: Almost Demo-ed Art Deco Gem on Alton Coming Back to Life

A compact little art deco masterpiece on the northern end of Alton Road that only months ago was extremely close to demolition by its former owners who wanted to replace it with something far larger and far newer will instead be restored to its original glory by a new…

Mindboggling Reveals: Icon Bay, Related’s Pride and Joy, is Done. And Here It Is

The Related Group’s latest thing, the luxury condo tower Icon Bay in Edgewater, is done, public park and all. And here it is. There isn’t much to say about Icon Bay and Icon Bay Park that Curbed Miami hasn’t already said (see our extensive archives). We’ve…

FAQs – 1031 Exchanges (Tax Deferred Exchanges) for Commercial Real Estate

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – 1031 Exchanges (Tax Deferred Exchanges) for Commercial Real Estate
Question 1:    What is the difference between a sale and an exchange?  Answer 1:  A sale…

Adult entertainment firm buys Miami Gardens warehouse for $15M

An adult entertainment company has picked up a warehouse and showroom in Miami Gardens for 15 stacks, or $15.3 million, according to Miami-Dade County records.  An affiliate of RCI Hospitality Holdings, a publicly traded operator of strip clubs, nightclubs and adult entertainment…

Hotel boom creates array of ‘stay-cation’ options

As South Florida has become a hot spot for hotel development, residents of Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties have more upscale “stay-cation” options than ever.  South Florida residents planning a local vacation have more than their fair share of chic hotel…

Delray Beach mayor takes over condo-hotel project

A judge agreed to the appointment of Cary Glickstein, the mayor of Delray Beach, to oversee the completion of the Palm House condo-hotel project, which has been plagued by an internal dispute among the owners.  Palm Beach County Judge Donald W. Hafele appointed Glickstein…

Miami Beach residents to vote on Ocean Terrace upzoning

For the first time ever, Miami Beach voters will decide whether or not a developer should receive a zoning increase.
By a vote of 6:1, the Miami Beach City Commission moved forward with zoning changes that will enable developer Sandor Scher to build a pair of high-rises at…

Attorney: Cesspool of Legal Issues in Cuba CRE

Cuba is certainly a hot topic in foreign investment discussions these days. But proceed with caution.

Miami Beach grants first approval to create 800-room convention hotel

Miami Beach’s city commission approved the first reading of a lease that would create a 800-room convention center hotel.  The city has been seeking to build a hotel to complement the Miami Beach Convention Center for decades. The region’s largest convention center is undergoing $500 million in renovations to handle more business…

Two shopping centers proposed in Doral

A Coral Gables-based investment group wants to build two shopping centers on the edge of the Trump National Doral Miami golf course.  Both items are set to go before the city council on Aug. 5.  In the first application, 97 Property wants to build a 50,085-square-foot shopping center at the southeast corner of Northwest 58th Street…

Demolition Begins At Worldcenter; Paramount Sells Another 77 Units

Miami Worldcenter developers have started demolition work, with groundbreaking on the project said to be coming soon.  Demolition crews were working on the former Mekka nightclub yesterday. Other structures on the property are also about to be bulldozed.  The first phase will include The Mall at Miami Worldcenter, the Paramount…

$750 Million Marriott Expo Center Delayed By Grand Central Park Trees

A project that could eventually add billions to Miami’s economy, delayed by a few trees?  Construction at MDM Development’s $750 million Marriott Marquis Miami Worldcenter Hotel & Expo has been delayed by the presence of trees that were planted on the site just a few years ago, TNM has learned.  The trees were planted as part…

NorthStar buys three Marriott-branded hotels in Miami from Thayer Lodging

An affiliate of NorthStar Asset Management bought three Marriott-branded hotels near Miami International Airport from Thayer Lodging Group.  The deal covers the 366-room Miami Airport Marriott, the 300-room Courtyard by Marriott and the 160-room Residence Inn. They are located at 1201 N.W. LeJeune Road and total 532,864…

Downtown Miami Office Tower Completes $15 Million Reno

Architecture firm RTKL’s design team transformed the lobby and added 8,000 square feet of new amenity space.

Bridge Development Acquires Land for Business Park Expansion

Chicago-based Bridge Development Partners has purchased 20 acres at NW 107th Avenue and NW 109th Avenue just north of NW 138th Street in Hialeah Gardens, FL, for expansion of the Bridge Point Crossroads industrial park.  This site is part of a larger 65-acre assemblage in Hialeah Gardens which…

Development Update: Related Reveals a Few Renderings, Floorplans, Totally Fake Dens, for Gran Paraiso

The Related Group has revealed renderings… okay, just a few renderings… floorplans, etc. of Gran Paraiso, its most expensive and fanciest of all the towers in the Paraiso Bay megaproject. Arquitectonica is designing the building, and laying out the units, so they might be the…

Vote for Your Favorite South Florida Buildings With the AIA

The Florida Chapter of the American Institute of Architects is holding its Second Annual People’s Choice Awards for your favorite buildings in Florida and wants your votes from a random assortment of dozens of buildings, fourteen of which are from South Florida, or you can submit your own. The…

In the rezone: It May Finally be Easier to Build Small Infill Buildings in Miami

In the City of Miami’s current real estate climate, building large scale projects is significantly easier than smaller developments due to parking requirements in the zoning code, practically eliminating smaller developers from the game. Somebody who may want to built five or ten residential units…

Construction Watch: The Venetian Causeway Has Already Been Taken Apart

The reconstruction and repair of the historic Venetian Causeway appears to be at full steam, according to photos taken of the work by Miami Flickr stalwart Phillip Pessar on July 19th. Construction equipment on barges have already taken apart the superstructure of a…

Retail Expansion Fueling Demand For New Net Lease Assets

Scattered retail expansion in Q2 of this year continued due to low interest rates and persistent consumer demand. Nationally, retailers continue to expand, re-tool their business models and test new markets. This, according to at least one market researcher…

Equity One Buys Out Interest In Three Miami Retail Centers, Profits Up

The North Miami Beach- and New York-based retail REIT acquired full ownership of the Concord Shopping Plaza, the Shoppes of Sunset and the Shoppes of Sunset II.

Matt Sherman unloads would-be jugofresh site in MiMo

Jugofresh owner Matthew Sherman has sold the Biscayne Boulevard site in MiMo that he had planned to redevelop for a new shop, The Real Deal has learned.  Sherman sold the building, at 7501 Biscayne Boulevard in…

Exciting times in Fort Lauderdale, firm reports

Realtors and developers have been saying for months that Fort Lauderdale is coming into its own as a rival of Miami’s booming real estate market. Now, One Sotheby’s International Realty has released a mid-year…

Apollo Group buys Miami warehouse for $15M

The Apollo Group, a Miami-based cruise ship food, catering and logistics company, has paid $15 million for an industrial warehouse in unincorporated Miami-Dade, county records show.  Apollo acquired the 213,131-square-foot building…

Horacio LeDon quits Douglas Elliman job

Top broker and Miami native Horacio LeDon, president of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing for Florida and California, announced his resignation today, The Real Deal has learned.  After a 13-year career selling billions of dollars in new development deals in New York, Miami and Los Angeles…

Hollywood hotel fetches $12.5M

A small assembly of properties in Hollywood, including a Ramada Inn, was just sold for $12.5 million, according to Broward property records.  The seller was a local company titled Hollywood Harrison Development, managed by Benjamin Cohen. He…..

What’s Driving Chinese Investors to Miami?

“Chinese investors who are buying US real estate are doing it with a very long-term view…”

Keyes Commercial

Equity One buys out interest in three Miami retail centers, profits up

Equity One announced several shopping center transactions that involved South Florida as it released its second quarter earnings on Wednesday afternoon.  The North Miami Beach- and New York-based retail REIT (NYSE: EQY) posted recurring funds from operation of $47.3 million, or 34 cents per square, which beat the consensus…

Developer to build GotRoom self-storage facility near Aventura

American’s Capital Partners plans to build a 120,000-square-foot self storage facility near Aventura.
The Got Room facility should break ground in late fall 2015. It would have 975 climate-controlled storage units and two loading docks. It acquired the 36,600-square-foot site at 2645 N.E. 186th Terrace for $2 million…

Broward County Goes Bananas

After 10 years of courting Chiquita Brands International, Broward County has secured the company, which will relocate its main headquarters to a 14,432-square-foot space at the Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA) building at 1855 Griffin Rd. in Dania, FL.  Located in the Dania Beach Complex, the…

SW Miami Avenue Land Sold for $18.3M

A subsidiary of Brickway Investment Corp. purchased the vacant land located at 39 – 55 SW Miami Ave., on the Miami River, from a local owner for $18.3 million.  The buyer plans to develop a 340-room hotel on the 0.3-acre site. As of now, permits are not in place and development isn’t…

EB-5 a good solution for Miami’s affordable housing woes, experts say

Legal experts in the EB-5 program said Miami’s regional center to lure foreign investments in exchange for green cards could help relieve the city’s affordable housing shortage, but it’s certainly not a panacea.  The EB-5 program is a hot-button issue in Congress, as it’s set to expire on Sept. 30. The attorneys and Miami city officials…

Bridge Development acquires property to expand Miami-Dade industrial park

Bridge Development Partners acquired a 20-acre site in Hialeah Gardens that will allow its industrial park project in the area to exceed 920,000 square feet.  Cushman & Wakefield’s Wayne Ramoski and Gian Rodriguez represented Bridge HG South, an affiliate of the Chicago-based developer, in the $7.05 million purchase of the property…

Johannsen Joins NAI / Merin Hunter Codman

Christian Johannsen, CCIM is relocating from NAI Miami to NAI / Merin Hunter Codman, Inc. as a managing director. In his new role, Johannsen will focus on capital advisory services for institutional-quality assets including debt and equity placement, bridge and mezzanine financings, structured…

BRG Pays $20.2M for Heron Bay Corp Ctr

Benedict Realty Group (BRG) acquired the two-building Heron Bay Corporate Center at 11555 – 11575 Heron Bay Blvd. in Coral Springs, FL from Ivy Realty Services LLC for $20.2 million, or about $227 per square foot.  The Heron Bay Corporate Center totals 89,114 square feet of office space on six acres…

Hollywood neighbors beset by traffic fear further expansion by Ben Gamla school

Representatives of a traffic-congested Hollywood neighborhood are expressing new fears regarding the Ben Gamla middle-high public charter school complex, now under construction, after discovering that ex-congressman Peter Deutsch, a top school official, is linked…

On the water: This is How SoLe Mia Will Have Giant, Clear, Swimmable Lakes

SoLe Mia, the 183 acre, $4 billion megaproject that the Soffer and LeFrak families are building in North Miami will have two artificial turquoise lagoons that are ten acres each and are completely clear and completely swimmable, with beaches. Circled by residential high-rises, the lakes will also…

Railroading: Metrorail Line to Doral Would Cost Only $102 Million to Build

Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban “Steve” Bovo, head of the commission’s transportation committee, is in discussions with CSX, a railroad company, to use their existing east-west freight line for passenger rail out to western Miami-Dade, either as Metrorail or Tri-Rail.  Bovo told…

Abandonment Issues: Nike Missile Site Built to Stop Cuba is Being Demolished Now

Abandoned Florida, an urban exploration website helmed by the anonymously named Bullet (being an urban explorer, one often has to be anonymous) reports that they have heard that the Nike Missile IFC Site HM-95, D Battery, just off Krome Avenue, is set to…

Retail Comeback In Suburban Sprawl?

While retail’s national economic health picture remains mixed with the commercial real estate recovery applied unevenly across the land, recovery stories are appearing that demonstrate what could yet be for the national retail property market as a whole.  In…

Pipeline Taking Coworking Model to Doral

“Doral’s growth and international population makes it an ideal community to serve as a complement to our other South Florida locations…”