Jul 03, 2024 - 0 Comments - Top Stories -

Miami Commercial Real Estate News July 3, 2024: Once Planned MLS Site to be 1,219 Residences, Former Sears 1,050 Unit MXU; Multifamily Sales Heat Up; More…

Mas brothers site once touted for MLS stadium getting 1,219 residences

A large vacant property in Overtown that at one time was considered for a professional soccer stadium is now being developed into a major residential and mixed-use neighborhood. The sweeping project is a collaboration between 0101 Miami Properties LLC, led by brothers Jorge and Jose Mas, and 8th Street Connections Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Terra. The site comprises…

John Ruiz, Cigarette Racing buy Opa-locka warehouses, amid industrial sales uptick

John Ruiz and his boat manufacturing firm, Cigarette Racing, scooped up a pair of Opa-locka warehouses, amid a continued uptick of South Florida industrial investment sales. They purchased the adjacent buildings at 4355 Northwest 128th Street and 13041 Northwest 43rd Avenue for $16 million from an entity led by Skip Braver, according to records. Braver sold the Cigarette Racing…

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez says transportation efforts going nowhere

As Miami-Dade’s transportation planners were about to vote on a five-year improvement plan last week, the City of Miami’s representative, Mayor Francis Suarez, notable mostly for his absence, dropped a bombshell as he complained that the group is all talk but no action and at the same time called for more talk about transit ideas. “We talk a big game and a good game…”

Board OKs 60-story Clear Residences in downtown Miami

A tall and slender golden tower is planned for a tight site in downtown Miami. Owner-developer Blutrich Holdings Inc. plans to construct the 60-story mixed-use residential tower, to be called Clear Residences, at 130 SE First St. and 153 SE Second St. The nearly 690-foot-tall structure is to include 666,432 square feet of floor area, including 549 residential units, 3,622 square feet of ground…

Zerry Ihekwaba: City Manager plans Homestead as a space industry powerhouse

Since taking on the role as Homestead city manager, Zerry Ihekwaba has already rolled out initiatives for a better quality of life for residents with citywide clean-ups, and has in the works a spaceport and an entertainment hub.  Mr. Ihekwaba joined the City of Homestead from the City of Miami, where he served as assistant, deputy and interim city manager.

Excel Construction Delivers 266,000 SF Industrial Facility in Hialeah Gardens for World Electric Supply

Excel Construction has delivered a 266,000-square-foot industrial facility at 10701 N.W. 142nd St. in Hialeah Gardens, approximately 20 miles outside Miami. World Electric Supply will occupy the property, which features 253,390 square feet of warehouse and packaging space and 12,862 square feet of office space. The building is situated within Northwest Dade Logistics Center…

RK Associates Gets Approval for Mixed-Use Development at 3655 SW 22nd Street Shuttered Sears Site in Miami

A shuttered Sears in Miami could be replaced with a multi-family housing development. The project, led by Sunny Isles Beach-based RK Associates, would offer 1,050 housing units, with layout plans ranging from studio to three-bedroom units. Specifically, the Real Deal notes that the housing plans include 995 apartments and 55 rental townhomes. Of the 995 apartments…

Last Sears in Miami to be Mixed-Use Complex

It’s getting hard to keep track of the onslaught of projects that have been put forward under Florida’s Live Local Act. The latest involves a plan to redevelop the last Sears outlet in South Florida into a mixed-use development. RK Centers, a firm founded and led by Miami Heat minority owner Raanan Katz, is aiming to build three eight-story buildings encompassing 995 apartments and 55…

Terranova moves one step closer to acquiring Location Ventures’ former HQ

Stephen Bittel’s Terranova could soon own the former Coral Gables headquarters of Rishi Kapoor’s defunct Location Ventures. On June 17, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra approved a settlement agreement in Terranova’s favor, paving the way for a final foreclosure judgment tied to the office building at 299 Alhambra Circle. The settlement is between Bernice Lee…

MAS AJP, Flagler to Develop South Florida MOBs

MAS AJP and Flagler Healthcare Solutions, two major South Florida health-care real estate firms, have formed a development partnership. The duo, titled FLAGLER MAS AJP, will break ground this fall on three medical office properties, one each in the Westchester neighborhood of Miami, Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Boynton Beach, Fla. Two others will follow.

Rilea’s partner bows out of planned Rider at Wynwood project for $21M

Promanas Group officially exited Rilea Group’s planned Rider at Wynwood project, selling its stake for $21 million. An affiliate of Saline, Michigan-based Promanas sold the 0.6-acre development site at 94 and 100 Northeast 29th Street and 101 Northeast 28th Street to an affiliate of Miami-based Rilea, records show. Rilea financed the acquisition with an $11.5 million mortgage…

Major Acquisition Expands Developer’s Waterfront Footprint in North Bay Village

Continuum Company has expanded its presence in North Bay Village by acquiring Shuckers Waterfront Bar & Grill and Best Western On The Bay Inn & Marina (now known as North Bay Inn Miami) at 1819 and 1855 79th Street Causeway. This acquisition, supported by a $67.5 million loan from Longline Financial, extends Continuum’s waterfront footprint to 4.5 acres…

Shoma Bay Breaks Ground at 1850 79th Street Causeway in North Bay Village

Coral Gables-based Shoma Group has broken ground on Shoma Bay, a mixed-use tower in North Bay Village, located at 1850 79th Street Causeway. The 24-story development will feature 333 waterfront condos, a 35,037-square-foot Publix market, and 15,628 square feet of retail space. Shoma Group acquired the property for $15.78 million in 2021. North Bay Village is seeing an influx…

Miami Tower Agrees to Affordable Component

Miami-Dade County has cut a deal with the developer of a Brickell apartment tower to set aside 26 units as affordable workforce housing for lawyers working in the state attorney’s office. Chicago-based Focus is planning to build a 39-story apartment tower at the site of the former Starlite East Motel at 128 SW Seventh St. in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. Demolition of the aging motel…

90-Room ‘Sanctuary Hotel’ Undergoes Construction at 1745 James Avenue in Miami Beach

Developer 745 James LLC has secured a $21.5 million construction loan for a boutique hotel in Miami-Dade County. Sanctuary Hotel would measure five stories above grade and offer 90 rooms, occupying the former site of Sanctuary South Beach Condo. 745 James LLC purchased the now-demolished condominium for $14.41 million in 2019, securing approval for the hotel a year…

Former NFL star Elvis Dumervil’s firm buys North Miami apartments

A firm led by Elvis Dumervil, a former Pro Bowl NFL player turned real estate developer, paid $11.35 million for the Caribbean Club Apartments in North Miami. Miare LLP, managed by Oleg Vorobyev in Sunny Isles Beach, sold the 62 apartments at 13200 N.E. Seventh Ave. to Prestige District LLC, managed by Dumervil of North Miami-based Prestige Estates. International Finance…

Michael Shvo cuts ties with Official at Raleigh Miami Beach

Developer Michael Shvo is cutting ties with Official, the boutique brokerage co-founded by Oren and Tal Alexander, in the wake of sexual assault and rape allegations leveled against the brothers, The Real Deal has learned. Shvo, who hired Official last year to lead sales and marketing of the Rosewood Residences at the Raleigh in Miami Beach, is bringing sales in-house, sources said.

Miami-Dade County adds 4 acres in Opa-locka to rapid transit zone

About four acres of land in Opa-locka are to be included in Miami-Dade County’s rapid transit zone, an area that grants additional development rights for transit-oriented developments. The Miami-Dade County Commission unanimously approved an ordinance that included 4.02 acres at approximately 13307 Alexandria Drive into the county’s RTZ during its July 2 meeting.

New Plans Filed for ‘the Residences at Palm Court,’ Located at 950 NW 95th Street in West Little River

The Related Group has new plans regarding two residential complexes in Miami-Dade’s West Little River Neighborhood. The original proposal, filed in 2023, involved demolishing Palm Court, an 88-unit complex, and renovating Palm Tower, a 103-unit development. Now, according to the South Florida Business Journal, a new zoning application calls…

Magellan lands $148M refi for Midtown Miami mixed-use tower

Magellan Development Group and its partners scored a $147.7 million refinancing for a 32-story mixed-use tower in Midtown Miami. PGIM Real Estate, the global asset management arm of Prudential, provided the fixed-rate loan for Gio Midtown at 3101 Northeast First Avenue, according to a press release. Chicago-based Magellan, Miami real estate investor…

Foundation Pour Completed For Brickell’s 67-Story Mercedes Benz Places Tower

A foundation pour for the 67-story Mercedes Benz Places tower has been completed, according to the developer’s social media account. Vertical construction is expected to begin in July. The pour took place over the weekend, with over 10,000 cubic yards of concrete trucked in. The development is one of the largest currently under construction in Florida, at over 2.5 million square…

New Renderings Of 856-Unit Residential Project Planned At Earlington Heights Metrorail Station

The developer planning a large residential complex at the Earlington Heights Metrorail station filed new renderings and plans last week. Developer Earlington Metro, LLC is requesting Miami-Dade Administrative Site Plan Review for the workforce multifamily development. Two 15-story towers are planned on property currently occupied by bus bays. The land is to be leased by…

Sustainable Wynwood/Overtown Mixed-Use Development Called SoWy Planned

A developer just announced it has secured a $76.81 million loan for a sustainable, mixed-use development in Overtown and Wynwood. JP Morgan Chase provided the loan. More Development is the developer. The company has offices within the development site. The development will be known as SoWy, and aims to stay faithful to the vibe of the neighborhood. SoWy will span…

Prosper in contract to buy dev sites in Brickell, North Bay Village for $70M

Prosper Group, a development firm led by Jay Roberts, is in contract to acquire two sites in Miami-Dade County where the company plans luxury condo towers, The Real Deal has learned. Prosper inked contracts for a Brickell development site at 1040 South Miami Avenue in Miami for $40 million, and the assemblage at 1681 and 1725 Kennedy Causeway in North Bay Village for $30.5M…

Z Capital sues Carillon condo association’s board members in latest chapter of eight-year legal saga

Z Capital Group sued condo association board members at the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort in Miami Beach, marking the latest chapter in South Florida’s drawn-out and most prominent condo-hotel dispute. The New York-based firm sued four past board members of the Central Tower association, as well as current board president Marvin Rosen and vice president Bruce Gorsky.

Owner of former Best Buy store in Pinecrest files for bankruptcy

The owner of a former Best Buy store in Pinecrest is seeking bankruptcy protection after losing more than $1 million in rental revenue when the big box retailer moved out last year. On June 20, Maria Investments, led by Azhar Said in Miami, filed a Chapter 11 petition in Miami’s U.S. Bankruptcy Court to avoid losing the 40,242-square-foot retail building at 11905 South Dixie Highway.

Judge tosses marina shakedown lawsuit against Alex Diaz de la Portilla

Alex Diaz de la Portilla can’t be held liable for allegedly shaking down a lobbyist and his client for a piece of a city of Miami marina deal. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mavel Ruiz on Thursday tossed a lawsuit filed last year by Manuel Prieguez, a lobbyist and ex-state legislator, against the former Miami city commissioner and two Diaz de la Portilla associates, Humberto Hernandez…

FBI raids Developer Sergio Pino’s home and office in connection with death threat against estranged wife

The FBI conducted raids of developer Sergio Pino’s waterfront Cocoplum estate and his Coral Gables office, as his two-year-old divorce case takes a dark turn. Federal agents in tactical gear descended on Pino’s home at 142 Isla Dorada Boulevard and his Century Homebuilders Group headquarters at 1805 Ponce de Leon on Monday night, the Miami Herald reported.

Arson, hit-and-run, fentanyl poisoning? About allegations against Sergio Pino

Prominent South Florida homebuilder Sergio Pino has been accused of poisoning his wife with fentanyl and bath salts, as the FBI investigates whether Pino had one of his part-time employees target his wife and her sister. Sergio Pino is founder and president of Century Homebuilders Group, which considers itself the largest Hispanic-owned homebuilder in the country…

Miami’s Waterfront Ferris Wheel Owes Over $1 Million in Delinquent Taxes

Afew short years after City of Miami commissioners approved a proposal to put a ferris wheel on public land at Bayside Marketplace, the operators of the ferris wheel have fallen into delinquency on over $1 million in taxes, WLRN has learned. The money owed would go directly towards funding the city and county governments. The operators of the ferris wheel, an Arizona-based…

Multifamily Investment Sales Heat Up in South Florida

Higher for longer interest rates, the withdrawal of traditional lenders and the waning of a two-year surge in rent growth don’t appear to be dampening interest in multifamily trades in South Florida. In fact, the arrival of summer has seen an uptick in multifamily investment sales activity in the market. A bevy of recent transactions in South Florida includes Chicago-based Mesirow’s…

South Florida’s Big, Empty Warehouses Drag Down Industrial Market

There are 48 industrial spaces larger than 100K SF available across South Florida, according to data provided… . The vacant spaces total more than 10M SF, and their failure to lease is starting to weigh on the market. The pandemic-era surge that defined South Florida’s industrial market has come crashing down, with the region experiencing a bit of a hangover as…

Revv Hollywood Tops Off Construction at 2233 Hollywood Boulevard

Revv Hollywood, an eight-story, 180-unit multifamily apartment building at 2233 Hollywood Boulevard, has officially topped off. Developed by The Calta Group and with Winmar Construction as the general contractor, the project is set to welcome residents next summer. The milestone was marked with a luncheon on June 20th for over 150 construction workers…

The West Tower at Oasis Hallandale Phase Three Advances in Vertical Construction

MGM Construction Group, a South Florida-based commercial and residential construction firm, has announced the concrete pouring for levels 1-13 of the West Tower at Oasis Hallandale. Located at 1000 East Hallandale Beach Boulevard, this mixed-use development is set to top out in late fall, featuring 500 residences, shops, restaurants, and offices on its 10-acre site. The West Tower…

BBX Logistics JV Eyes Davie Redevelopment

The Park at Davie will comprise two logistics buildings. Image courtesy of BBX Logistics Properties The joint venture between BBX Logistics Properties, a subsidiary of BBX Capital Inc., and FRP Development Corp. plans to develop The Park at Davie, a two-building, Class A, 182,000-square-foot logistics campus in Davie, Fla. The partnership purchased the Signature Grand…

Mormon church’s investment arm drops $133M for Plantation apartment building, as multifamily deals soar

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ commercial real estate investment arm paid $133 million for a 315-unit apartment building in Plantation. The purchase comes as South Florida multifamily sales are soaring, despite elevated interest rates and other economic headwinds. Property Reserve, which invests the church’s reserve funds, bought the eight-story…

Bridge sells office complex in Sunrise for $49M –– a 34% discount

Bridge Investment Group sold the Sawgrass Technology Park in Sunrise for $49 million, marking a 34 percent discount from its purchase price five years ago. North Miami-based IMC Equity Group and investor Alan Lipton bought the 515,000-square-foot office campus at 1601-1699 Northwest 136th Avenue from Salt Lake City, Utah-based Bridge, according to records and real estate…

IMC Equity Group Buys Sunrise Office Park at $25M Discount

A 56-acre office park in Sunrise, Fla., traded for about a third less than its previous sale price five years ago. IMC Equity Group paid $49 million for Sawgrass Technology Park at 1601 NW 136th Avenue, south of the Sawgrass Mills outlet mall, per property records. Israel Discount Bank of New York provided a $30.3 million loan. The Sawgrass campus features a 514,332-square-foot…

Developer Seeks Funding for 101-Unit ‘Pinnacle at Cypress’ at 6520 N Andrews Ave in Fort Lauderdale

Pinnacle Housing is hoping to get funding for a senior housing development in Broward County. The project, named Pinnacle at Cypress, would measure eight stories above grade and require 115,623 square feet of new construction. At full buildout, it would yield 101 one-bedroom apartments, averaging 680 square feet each. Additionally, plans call for 52 ground-floor parking…

Glass House Boca Raton Welcomes New Project Partners, Ground Breaking Slated for Q1 2025

Glass House Boca Raton, a 10-story residential development located in downtown Boca Raton at 280 East Palmetto Park Road, continues to expand its South Florida-based development team. The development has welcomed Anthony Perera, founder and managing partner of Exuma Capital Partners, as general partner, and Square Edge as the construction management partner.

Milestone drops $112M for Delray Beach apartment complex, amid flurry of South Florida multifamily deals

Milestone Group bought a 488-unit apartment complex in Delray Beach for $111.6 million, amid a continuing flurry of South Florida multifamily investment sales. Milestone bought the Axis Delray Beach at 1495 Spring Harbor Drive from Bainbridge Companies, according to records and real estate database Vizzda. The deal breaks down to $228,770 per unit. The complex…

Milestone Group Acquires South Florida Community

The Milestone Group has acquired the Axis Delray Beach Apartments, a 488-unit garden-style multifamily property in Delray Beach, Fla., from Bainbridge Cos. The purchase price could not immediately be learned. Axis Delray Beach features a unique mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom garden and townhome-style apartments in a lakefront, resort-style setting. In 2024, one-bedroom…

Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood sells Palm Beach County apartment complex for $108M, amid uptick in multifamily deals

Brookfield Properties bought a 444-unit apartment complex near West Palm Beach for $107.5 million, marking a continued uptick in South Florida multifamily deals, despite elevated interest rates. The purchase is part of New York-based Brookfield’s $1.6 billion purchase of a 7,300-unit portfolio of 23 properties from Miami Beach-based Starwood Capital Group, led by billionaire…

Biden Administration Doles Out $504M To 12 Regional Tech Hubs;  Including South Florida ClimateReady Tech Hub

Twelve tech hubs across the country are collectively getting a half-billion dollars in federal grants to expand research in artificial intelligence, semiconductor manufacturing and clean energy. The funding is among the first distributions of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which earmarked $280B to spur regional economic development and reduce dependence on foreign…

Moody’s Q2 2024 CRE Preliminary Trend Announcement

Apartment Demand Slowly Catching Up, Office Stress Continued to Manifest, Retail Resilient Despite Bankruptcies, And Industrial Cools Down The commercial real estate (CRE) market remained in a holding pattern in Q2 as the industry awaits interest rate cuts across sectors. The macroeconomy is in a relatively healthy state, a benefit for CRE largely which has also shifted…

Industrial Prices Continue Upward Trend Nationally Despite Challenges

Industrial prices are nearing those of prices in the office market, driven by an industrial boom that began with COVID-19 and a market that has remained strong despite normalizing demand and muted transaction volume due to elevated interest rates. The average industrial sale price across the country was $142 per square foot in May, up 15.4% from last year and 71.2%…

PCE Completes Trifecta of Positive Inflation Reports for May

Friday’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index completed a trifecta of positive inflation reports for the month of May, reflecting a continuation of disinflationary progress that was also evident in May’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) reports.Since 1960, the year-over-year (YoY) change in headline CPI was on average, 47 basis points…

‘Alarmist’ prediction of urban doom loop proves true across country

If you want an example of just how crazy office tower valuations have become, look no further than Burnett Plaza, the tallest building in bustling Fort Worth, Texas. The massive 40-story structure was purchased via foreclosure auction for $12.3 million in May. Three years ago, the same building was sold for about $137.5 million. In other words, this tower has lost more than 91% of its…

The industrial sector nationally comes back down to Earth

After several years of extraordinary growth, the industrial sector’s moonshot performance has started to come back down to Earth. Rent growth has cooled considerably in recent years, as illustrated in the accompanying chart. For example, commercial real estate effective rent growth for warehouse and distribution properties in 2022 increased by 21.7% annually, according to…

Paying the Piper: Mortgage maturities continue to pressure the office sector

Office landlords are facing plenty of problems these days, thanks to high interest rates, reduced demand and depreciating asset values. Now, they can add one more headache to the list: the volume of maturing commercial real estate loans continues to put pressure on property owners and brokers as lenders and investors seek to minimize their exposure to the office sector.

Breaking the Cycle: Innovations in Low Emissions Building Cooling Technology

As the early season heat waves in the US move south and west throughout the week, millions of people are under heat advisories. We’re entering the summer season, where beach trips and family road trips often have a backdrop of extreme heat, dangerous smoke or hurricane warnings. For many, summer is a time of soaring electricity bills due to surging air conditioning use.

Office Loan Maturity Monitor: Momentum May! Office Maturities are Ticking up

A staggering total of $2,247 million across 23 CMBS office loans reached fully extended maturity in May with the payoff rate recorded at 35.6%Properties with strong financials and stable occupancy pay off at a higher rate. Loan size continues to be a significant factor in whether or not a loan pays off$1,126 million of loans backed by regional malls reached fully extended maturity…

Video: Moody Analytics Senior Economist Ermengarde Jabir, PhD on Data Center Real Estate; Sector Trends, Performance, & Forecast

The Conversation: Exploring the Rapid Growth of Data Centers in Commercial Real Estate The latest episode of America’s Commercial Real Estate Show delved into an increasingly significant topic within the industry: data centers. The show featured Ermengarde Jabir, PhD., Senior Economist with Moody Analytics, as the guest expert. This episode marked the first time…

What will be the impact on office demand from WFH?

While decline in demand for office space isn’t a new trend, yet measuring the precise impact of this shift can be difficult. How many employees will return to the office? What days will they be in? Will work from home (WFH) persist? In this comprehensive analysis, economists review existing research on the persistence of WFH. Then, these insights are combined with four…

Empty Offices Risk Wiping Out $250 Billion in Commercial Property Value

Nearly one-quarter of all US office space will be vacant by 2026 as working from home persists, slicing commercial-property values by as much as $250 billion, according to a report from Moody’s. Office-vacancy rates are expected to rise to 24% from 19.8% in the first quarter of this year in the US, reducing revenue for office landlords by between $8 billion and $10 billion when combined…

Florida laws tied to HOAs, condo-hotels, insurance go into effect July 1

Half a dozen new Florida real estate-related laws will go into effect on Monday, following this year’s legislative session. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills into law that deal with long-controversial issues such as the governing structure at condo-hotels and the lack of oversight at residential communities governed by associations. Another new piece of legislation aims to help homebuilders…

Condo crisis worsens three years after deadly Surfside collapse

The tragedy was a huge wake up call for the condo community statewide — from legislators and code enforcement to homeowners, engineers, property managers and condo board members. Laws passed in 2022 and 2023 aim to ensure another collapse of that magnitude never happens again. The legislation requires milestone inspections for condo and co-op buildings…

Why The Push To Get Workers To The Office Is A Designer’s Dream

The quality of an office space has become a key front in the war against remote work, and tenants and landlords are spending tens of millions of dollars to win the battle with posh, irresistible workspaces. It costs an average of $400 per SF to build out the interiors at 830 Brickell, Miami’s highly anticipated office tower set to deliver next quarter, according to Brian Gale…

Saudi Developer Plans $300M Push Into U.S. Luxury Developments

A Saudi developer partnering with The Trump Organization on developments in the Middle East plans to invest $300M in luxury U.S. real estate projects by year’s end. Dar Global, the international arm of Saudi Arabia’s Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Co., announced it is seeking partnerships to build condos in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and other key U.S. markets.